The Wild Swans: The Swan's Silence
by fictionfrek101
Summary: In a retelling of the classic tale, when Princess Sarah Swanheart is forced to flee her home, she must journey to find out how to break the terrible curse placed on her siblings. As Sarah is asked to do the impossible, to undertake a vow of silence for seven years, she finds herself in the middle of an age old battle against the greatest threat to the world of Elementum. (Book 1)
1. Prologue: How Did We Get Here?

I should start by saying that, yes this is actually an original series of my own that I have been working on for going on three years now, and I do plan on having this series published someday. However, as it is in fact the retelling of a fairy tale (The Wild Swans), I feel confident in being able to publish it on this site as well.

So, why did I decide to post this series on fanfiction dot net? There are several reasons. I really wanted to see if there was interest in this story, and if I could build a fan base before I attempt to publish these. I have tired posting it on fictionpress dot net, but have only garnered the attention of a couple of people. Meanwhile, I was looking at my user stats on fanfiction and it occurred to me that perhaps one of the 136 people who get an email every time I post something, would be interested in reading my series.

The second reason is that I am in desperate need of serious feedback, as no one will give me any. I show it to people and they say, "It's good" and that's it. I have gotten a little bit of feedback over on fictionpress, but more of the "and you put this grammar error here" type, rather than the "I don't understand the purpose of this character" critical feedback. So please, tell me what I'm doing wrong because I have no clue at this point.

My third reason is that is gives me motivation to finish the series as when I'm doing this on my own no one is pushing me to continue on, and I find that I go weeks, and even months without writing. It also means that I can stop going back and editing what I've already written, and move forward with the story.

So thank you for checking out my series, and please, keep in mind that this is really the first draft of this story. I have spent the past two years worldbuilding and outlining the entire series, but it is a draft, and will be different from what would be the published form one day.

Now, enjoy the story.

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><p>The Wild Swans<p>

Book One

The Swan's Silence

By fictionfrek101

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><p><em>In every great story, before the quest can begin, comes the search to find its heroes.<em>

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><p>Prologue<p>

How Did We Get Here?

April 23, 746 A.C.

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><p>Sarah tried to remember exactly how she ended up face first in the sand, coughing the ocean out of her lungs, the waves blanketing her legs as they crashed against the beach.<p>

So far, she had nothing.

She looked around, searching for some clue as to what had happened, but her surroundings were unfamiliar and her memories shaky.

Her head pounded as she coughed into the sand, the water flushing from her lungs once more. When the last of the water was cleared out, and the coughing subsided, she shifted into an upright position and blearily observed herself. The white dress she wore clung awkwardly to her frame, as it was absolutely soaked, which made the material a little too sheer for her comfort. The design and fabric was simple, a far cry from the beautiful gowns she had worn back before her home had been invaded. In fact, she looked very little like the Princess she had once been. Her fair white skin was now burnt by the intense sunlight of her new home, and her beautiful blonde locks were now coarse, matted, and oily from her inability the keep it properly. This impromptu "swim" of hers was probably the closest thing to a bath she'd had in weeks. It was only her blue eyes, shaped like her father's, and coloured like her mother's, that remained as a testament of her true heritage.

The simplicity of her appearance was a blessing though; the less she looked like The Lost Princess of Lignum, the safer she was.

"_What happened?" _Sarah wondered rubbing her head as the pulsating pain concentrated itself in a very specific spot behind her right temple.

It was then she noticed the band around her right wrist: a blue piece of fabric embroidered with gold thread that shaped a star with a seahorse in the middle, and a miniature version of each of the five elements next to each point of the star. It was the traditional band that every citizen in the world of Elementum wore on Victory Day, a holiday celebrating the day the Star, Asteria, defeated the Tyrant, Celestella.

Suddenly things were starting to make a lot more sense.

As part of the Victory Day celebrations, the citizens of Aqua would take to the great ocean that separated the Island Kingdom of Aqua from the Great Continent that hosted the other four Kingdoms of Elementum. The Stars would then set off powerful fireworks that could be seen all the way from Silvus, the capital of Sarah's home, the Kingdom of Lignum. This was astounding in the fact that the Palace of Silvus resided not far from the eastern edge of the Continent, which itself, lay east of Aqua.

Last night, Sarah had gone onto one such boat with a few friends of the kind Stars that had been hosting the fugitive. All had been going well, until the storm started. It couldn't have been a normal storm, not with the way the ocean had raged. Sarah had felt the danger last night, but how did she end up on the beach?

"_Wait a minute," _something clicked in Sarah's head as she focused on the concentrated throbbing, and remembering the Star who had hosted the event. _"Did Taini _hit _me?"_

As her head pounded in response and blurry images from last night began to surface in her mind, the answer seemed to be yes. The raging storm, the pounding ache, Taini's panicked look, and the Star's quick apology before everything went dark. Yep, Taini had hit her and thrown her overboard.

"_I guess that's what I get for trusting something Zeke swears is safe," _Sarah looked around. She'd have to find out some way to get back home now.

"_Home," _Sarah bitterly thought of the simple house in Mare she had being staying in, and of the beautiful palace of Silvus where she had grown up. _"What I would give to go home."_

Sarah sighed and stood, before looking about at her surroundings. She was on a beach, but a very small one. Only a few yards of sand stretched out from the lapping waves before the yellow granules were cut off by a boundary of waved beaten rocks, clearly caused by high tide. The shiny black rocks were set against a ledge of earth, and their formation was oddly straight.

"_They must have been placed here to prevent the earth from getting corroded," _Sarah walked over to the rocks, running a hand across their wave polished surfaces.

She glanced up at the ledge; near the edge of the small cliff sat a thick grove of trees that obscured what lay beyond the beach, but she could hear the faint sounds of civilization. Sarah smiled at the trees; they were large oaks, and very reminiscent of the ones that lined the courtyard of her home. The familiarity gave Sarah a slight piece of comfort, and she found herself compelled to find some way onto the ledge and to the trees.

It was then she noticed it, a small dirt path to the left of her, hidden away by the rocks. She smiled and quickly scaled the ledge, racing over to the trees. The Princess came to a stop in front of the biggest tree, and carefully ran a hand over the rough bark, a memory of her father surfacing in her mind.

"_You should be proud of being Lignumi, Sarah," her father told her as they stood in front of the oldest tree of Lignum, observing its might and power. She couldn't have been more than six years old at the time. "All the other Kingdoms have flimsy Elements, blowing out with the simplest wind or rusting by water, but trees? Trees are strong. You can cut them down, but their roots will remain firmly in the earth. And no matter what obstacle stands in their path, they will always find a way to grow. No matter what happens, Sarah, no matter how hard the path, a Lignumi will always find a way."_

A tear slipped from Sarah's eye: no matter how hard the path was ahead of her was, she would find a way.

"_I promise, Father," _Sarah vowed, resting her cheek against the tree, desperately trying to pretend that she had him again.

Before she could finish her moment with the pretend tree father, a bark rung out. Sarah's head snapped up, finally looking around. The ledge held a small forested path, and she could see that a winding dirt trail curved through the trees. Far off, past a corner of the trail, was a small seaside city. Sarah smiled; all she had to do was get to the city and get directions back to Mare, where she was sure there were quite a few worried people looking for her.

It was then she remembered that she had no money for passage and was wearing a sheer dress.

"_Vae!" _Sarah mentally cursed. Although, to be honest, this was probably one of the least embarrassing things that had happened to her lately.

The bark rang out again, and suddenly a small black figure raced forward on the path. As it came closer, Sarah could see that it was a huge dog, with thick coal black fur and a rope tied around its neck. Its teeth were bared dangerously, and it was snarling as its eyes locked on her.

Now Sarah liked dogs well enough, but this was less dog and more wolf hunting prey, and it had decided its prey would be her. So Sarah did the only thing she could think of: she scrambled up the tree as fast as she could, and settled on the highest branch that looked like it could support her weight.

Unfortunately the branch wasn't quite high enough, and suddenly, two sharp rows of teeth clamped down on one of her pale ankles. Sarah found herself just barely stopping a scream from ripping out of her throat as the pain surged through her body. She acted on instinct; using her free leg, she kicked the dog in the face, hard enough that he let her go for a second. Quickly, as the dog lunged at her again, she lifted her ankle out of its reach, and tucked her legs into her chest. Sarah sat, panting in a semi-fetal position, cradling her injured ankle, stuck quite literally like a cat in a tree as the devil dog jumped up at her over and over.

"_I've officially hit an all-time low," _Sarah frowned, looking between the dog and her bleeding ankle. She could barely hold back tears as she thought about how close she had come to screaming. _"I can't believe I almost did that. I have to learn to control myself. Winds, I hope the others are okay."_

Suddenly, she heard some faint yelling from down the path, and a small group of people came racing toward the dog.

"_I'm saved," _Sarah couldn't help but smile at the group.

There were a couple boys who went straight to the dog, unnoticing of the Princess as they fought to get control of the creature, though it was a battle they were clearly losing. Two girls followed them, but the older of the two threw out an arm and held back the younger, protecting her from the monster as they watched the boys. A few feet behind the group, they were followed casually by a strong, older man holding a rope. He paused on the path and watched the young boys with an amused expression as they tried to pull back the dog.

After a few minutes of struggling, one of the boys finally glanced up at the tree.

"Oh, great," the boy frowned, his eyes locking on Sarah. He exhaled in irritation before calling up to her, "Sorry about him! New dog and all!"

"We'll get him under control in a moment!" the other boy didn't look at Sarah. He seemed much more focused on the dog as he snapped at the first boy, "Please explain to me again why you thought getting a dog was a good idea?"

"You're right, who needs companionship with your sparkling personality?" Sarcasm lined the first boy's reply.

Sarah frowned as she carefully began to shift from the fetal position, watching the little group with interest. She couldn't get much from the two girls as the younger hid behind the older, but the older did not seem very amused as she watched the boys struggle with the dog. As for the older man, he had a smile on his face as he watched the encounter, almost as if the situation was one big joke.

But it was the boys that were the most interesting of all. The tension between them seemed almost like physical entity to Sarah. Their tones in speaking to each other were angry and hostile, and the way they looked at each other was very much like the way her father had looked at Rayhan before throwing him out of the Kingdom.

Sarah held back a sad sigh, _"I almost wonder if I should have let him kill Rayhan."_

"Can we get some help?" the dog owner snapped Sarah out of her thoughts as he looked back at the group watching the boys.

"Here, take this," the older man finally stepped in to take control of the situation. He tossed the bundle of rope he was holding to the second boy before looking back at the dog owner, "You help me hold him while he ties that to the dog's collar."

"Got it," the dog owner nodded.

Sarah looked from the boys to the dog; he had stopped lunging at her and was now crouched back, his fur standing on end, a faint growl coming from his throat. He was ready the pounce.

The man held very still, staring down the dog in a challenge for dominance.

Then he moved.

A loud cry ripped from the man's throat as the dog's teeth sunk into his arm.

"Grab him!" the man cried, trying to wrestle the dog away.

It was great struggle, but eventually the man and the dog owner were able to wretch the dog off of the man's arm and hold him still long enough for the second boy to tie the rope to the monster's collar.

"I'll take care of him," the man announced. If the wound had affected the man, it didn't look it as he took the leash from the second boy. The only hint of the attack was the blood lightly staining his sleeve. "You all take care of the girl. I'll meet you back at the ship. And mind her ankle."

"Yes, Sir," the second boy nodded.

Sarah blinked, _"He noticed my ankle?"_

The dog owner frowned at the man, "Sorry about the dog, Kennard."

The man smiled at the boy, "Don't worry, it's not the worst I've ever had."

"We'll see you at the ship," the older girl stepped forward, still holding the younger away from the dog.

Kennard nodded, and led the snapping creature up the path, back towards the city. All members of the group were dead silent, trying not to provoke the creature until Kennard and the dog were gone.

"I'm sorry about the dog," the second boy said once the dog was gone, which Sarah took as her cue to start scaling down the tree. He vaguely glanced up at Sarah, and when he noticed her climbing, he offered his hand, "Here, let me help."

Sarah wanted to tell him that, despite her ankle, she really was fine, but she quickly remembered the promise she had made and simply smiled at the boy, taking his hand.

Her blue eyes locked upon his brown ones.

It was in that moment they first really looked at each other, and for a second, something pleasant flitted across his face.

He was about her age, and tan like the Ignisians, but his complexion was ever so slightly lighter than most citizens of the Fire Kingdom, suggesting some distant Lignumi ancestors in his lineage. He had dark brown hair that was cut a little longer than what might be considered appropriate and it stuck out slightly, as if someone had violently ruffled his hair. His inviting brown eyes sparkled with humour and innocence as they stayed locked on hers, observing her and clearly pleased about something. Overall, he seemed very boyish, and while he wasn't the most handsome man Sarah had ever met, she had to admit that he certainly was attractive. Although she was wary of him, she certainly liked his wide, innocent smile which reflected the kindness, honesty, and naïveté that seemed to radiate off of him.

When Sarah's injured foot hit the ground, she had momentarily forgotten about the wound. Pain shot up her leg, and she almost cried out as she stumbled forward, but before she fall to the ground, instead she fell onto the boy. For a second, his body was sturdy, as if he could catch her successfully, like a Knight in Shining Armor catching a swooning Maiden, but the reality of physics kicked in, and he too lurched backwards. Thankfully, both Sarah and the boy were able to catch themselves, though Sarah was still unsteady as she focused on putting all of her weight onto her good ankle.

"Here, lean on me," the boy offered, shifting his position into one that could hold her better.

Sarah looked at him hard for a minute; coming from most men she would be suspicious of the encouragement of close contact, but the look on the boy's face, and tone of his voice was so innocent that she wondered if he even realised the suggestive nature of the action.

Sarah smiled, and looked at the boy,_ "Well, he seems alright."_

"Carefully now," the boy helped her shift her weight onto him.

It seemed that Sarah's approval of the boy was returned as he couldn't stop smiling and observing her as he gently helped her.

Suddenly, from behind the two, the older girl cleared her throat, and threw a pointed look to Sarah's clasped hand. She hadn't even noticed that she was still holding his hand.

"Oh," the boy blushed, releasing Sarah's hand. "Sorry. Are you okay? You know, other than the ankle."

Sarah nodded, a smile playing across her face.

"That's good to hear," the boy continued. "I'm, uh, I'm- My name is-"

"Stammers here's name is Christian," the dog owner interrupted, causing the boy to redden and glare at him. The dog owner ignored Christian as he casually pointed to the girls behind him, "That's Larissa, Adara, and I'm Patrick."

Sarah's eyes went wide as the recognition struck her brain.

"_It can't be," _she stared in horror at the group assembled before her.

Of course, Christian was paler than the average Ignisian; the average Ignisian didn't have generations of Lignumi Royalty mixing into their line. But the Crown Prince of Ignis, Christian Phoenixflame, of course would.

And Larissa. Oh, Larissa was the older girl: tall, pale, beautiful beyond imagination with ice blue eyes, white blonde hair, and unknown power coursing through her veins. There was no mistaking the famous Star daughter.

The younger girl was probably the one who scared Sarah the most, mostly in the unanswered question of what was she doing here? Adara stood shyly at the back of the group, barely noticeable but a great threat. A petite figure with the same desert complexion Rayhan had sported, Sarah thought with a shudder. The girl was quiet, nervously pulling her long black hair over the right side of her face, obscuring it from view.

"_Fireface," _Sarah recalled.

And the dog owner, though not as dangerous as Adara, Patrick was a great threat to Sarah's undoing as he stood there, studying her, trying to place her face. Oh, she knew that strong, cocky, copper skinned boy whose arms were crossed at her. She knew him all too well.

She knew them all.

"_But do they know me?" _Sarah feared, eyes darting nervously from figure to figure.

An awkward silence hung over the group as they waited for the girl to speak. Patrick raised a brow, and looked towards Larissa, who scowled and shrugged back.

Finally, Patrick spoke, "And your name is?"

Sarah sighed, a slight bit of relief escaping.

"_He doesn't know."_

The group looked at each other awkwardly. The tall girl, Larissa, narrowed her eyes, something clicking in her head.

"You _can _talk, can't you?" Larissa dared to ask.

Sarah bit her lip, and gravely shook her head.

"Oh," Larissa's eyes widened as each member of the group looked at each other in shock. "I'm sorry, we didn't know."

Sarah held up her hands innocently, doing her best to gesture that it was okay, but she couldn't help but notice an odd look on Patrick's face.

"How'd it happen?" Patrick blurted out.

"Patrick!" Larissa snapped.

"What?" he threw up his hands. "I'm curious."

"That doesn't matter," Christian looked at Patrick with annoyance. "You can't just ask someone why they can't talk."

"What if she was injured?" Patrick pointed out, the obvious exclusion of her ankle going unsaid. "We need to know if we need to get help."

"Were you injured?" Christian asked Sarah.

Sarah looked down at her dress, remembering how she got there, and of the pain resonating through her head. It was then she also remembered the sheerness of her dress, and glancing at Christian, whom she was still leaning upon, she awkwardly crossed her arms around her torso, trying her best not to bring attention to her outfit. Sarah tilted her hand back in forth in a motion meaning "somewhat".

She accidentally caught Larissa's eye, and the Star glanced down at the Princess' dress.

"Boys, Adara, turn around," Larissa ordered, realizing Sarah's modesty issue.

The Star's countenance towards Sarah was starting to relax, as a kind smile flitted across her face. Catching on, the boys and Adara looked away from the mute as Larissa stepped toward Sarah. Suddenly, as if she didn't want to be seen by Sarah, Adara darted from her now uncovered spot, to hide behind Patrick.

"Christian, let her lean on me," Larissa instructed.

The Prince nodded, and carefully shifted Sarah into the Star's arms, before turning his back completely to avoid the immodest sight of Sarah.

Larissa gently took a hold of the Princess, "Don't worry, we'll get you the help you need."

Sarah smiled, she found something very comforting in the Star.

Chivalrously, Christian unbuttoned his jacket and offered it to Larissa who used it to make sure Sarah was adequately covered up.

"So," Larissa helped Sarah into the sleeves of the jacket. "How did you end up getting chased up a tree by our dog?"

Sarah smiled.

"_If only you knew."_

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><p>So, what do you think? Any and all feedback will be welcome.<p> 


	2. Winter of Sorrow

A/N: To anyone who is wondering, I'm basically uploading all the chapters that are on fictionpress already.

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><p>Chapter One<p>

Winter of Sorrow

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><p>On the last day of the year 734 AC, the Queen of Lignum died. For her daughter Sarah, it was a confusing time. Being just five years old she struggled to understand exactly what had happened and where her mother had gone.<p>

Aunt Snow would tell her that, "Mommy had gone to live with the Stars."

Daddy would yell at Aunt Snow when he found Sarah looking for Mommy in the night sky.

Still, Sarah couldn't quite understand what was going on around her as the preparations for something called a "funeral" were made. Apparently part of it was getting to see all of her Mommy's friends, as people came from far and wide to help her family and tell Sarah how sorry they were for her loss.

"But how could Mommy be lost?" Sarah asked Aunt Rose, Aunt Snow's elder sister as the women sorted through the bouquets of flowers that seemed to be arriving at the palace on an hourly basis. "Can't someone find her?"

"It doesn't work like that, Sweetie," Aunt Snow smiled down at the little Princess as she sorted a bouquet of snowdrops and primroses. Being wintertime, there were limited types of flowers growing which led to some interesting bouquets.

"How does it work?" Sarah pouted, crossing her arms.

"What we mean by lost is that your Mother isn't with us anymore," Aunt Rose tried her hand at explaining.

"But I saw her sleeping in the chapel," Sarah frowned.

The sisters exchanged a look; exactly how were they supposed to explain the tradition of presenting the Queen's body to the public so that her subjects could pay their last respects? It was an honour given to Elizabeth, as Queen of Lignum, and one that would be given to Snow as the Queen of Terra when her time came.

"What they mean to say is that your Mother's body has stopped working," came a dry voice from the corner where Rose's husband, Dunstan, stood with his arms crossed. His eagle eyes were sharply focused on his son, Patrick, and Sarah's older brother, Andrew, as the boys attempted to entertain themselves by playfully roughhousing. The Captain of the Terran Guard was prepared to jump in at any minute if the boys got too rough. "Asteria knows it was no surprise, seriously what was Richard thinking getting her pregnant six times in seven years? And with two sets of twins?"

Sarah could vaguely understand the connection of the word pregnant with the arrival of new babies, and she had certainly seen a lot of babies in her life. Sarah was the second of eight children: four separate births and then two sets of twins. The blonde Princess really liked the babies, although she sometimes couldn't remember what they were all called. So, why was it their fault Mommy was gone?

"Did the babies do something to Mommy?" Sarah asked the grownups, picturing the new twins, a blonde haired boy and a brunette little girl.

Rose shot her husband a look, this was _not _a conversation Sarah should be having with anyone but her father, but with the mess Richard had been over the past week, there really was no one to talk to Sarah. Apparently Sarah had elected Rose as her new mother figure, despite the fact it was Snow which people often confused the Queen of Lignum with.

"Come here, Sarah," Rose sighed, putting down a bouquet of moth orchid and witch hazel before beckoning the little Princess over. As Sarah reached Rose, the woman knelt down to the little girl's eye level. "Sarah, you remember the story we told you about your Mother? The one about her Step-Mother, Maeveen?"

"The evil Star who poisoned her with an apple?" Sarah asked.

"And a poisoned comb and enchanted laces," Dunstan muttered.

"Eyes on the boys!" Rose snapped at her husband. She turned back to Sarah, "Right, that one. Remember how we all thought she had died? Well, that accident hurt your Mother."

Sarah frowned, "But she got better."

"But it still affected Elizabeth," Rose explained. "It made your mother weaker, and having a baby takes a lot of strength, so having eight of them really hurt your mother, and her body just couldn't handle that many. It had no choice but to stop working, so the Winds took your Mother to a happier place where she can be nice and strong and watch over you, and your brothers, and sisters."

"Ow! My eye!" came a sudden shout from one of the boys as Andrew and Patrick scuffled in the corner.

"Speaking of watching your brother," Rose groaned before snapping at her husband. "Dunstan!"

"On it!" Dunstan grabbed his son by the shoulder and pulled him off the Lignumi Prince before giving the boys a sound lecture about playing nice.

Patrick glanced over at Sarah and the Lignumi Princess stuck her tongue out at him. Sarah didn't like Patrick; he had pulled her hair the other day.

"So do you understand now, Sweetie?" Aunt Snow asked the Princess.

"Yes," Sarah frowned. "But if my Mommy is gone, who's going to be my new Mommy?"

Rose and Snow exchanged a look.

"Well if your Daddy finds himself liking a new lady enough, he'll marry her and she'll be your new Mommy," Rose replied, but she knew there was no way that was ever going to happen. Not after the hell Richard and Elizabeth had been through. "But you don't really need a Mommy; you'll have your Daddy. Patrick, for the love of Hesperus, if you don't knock it off, I am coming over there myself!"

Sarah frowned; she didn't need a Mommy, but her brothers and sisters did.

But who could be their Mommy?

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><p>It turned out funerals were a very boring thing; it was a lot of talking and a lot of crying, but on the chilly morning of January 7, 735, Elizabeth Doveheart, Queen Consort of Lignum was laid to rest in a cemetery not far from the palace of Silvus.<p>

Sarah was freezing; her skin was almost as blue as her eyes as a speech was given by one of her Mommy's best friends, Elton. He was the leader of a group of men Elizabeth had once sought refuge with. Although they called themselves "The Dwarves", none of the men were actually the Fallen Stars, which is what the term referred to. They were simply a group of men who had been branded outlaws on a slew bogus charges and cast from society.

Bored of Elton's speech, Sarah tried to snuggle into her father's embrace, but Richard struggled to hold his daughter as he attempted to balance the new twins in each of his arms. Snow and her husband William, the King of Terra, each had one of the elder set of twins, and the next eldest two children stood by Dunstan and Rose, while Andrew and Sarah flanked Richard's sides. It was clear that managing all eight children was going to be a difficult feat for Richard, but thank Asteria he had a palace full of attendants to help him out.

A quarter of the way through the ceremony Sarah began fiddling with her necklace. It was the fanciest, and doubtless the most important piece of jewellery Sarah would ever own. Hanging from a bronze chain was a pendant of a swan, also made of bronze, with two tiny emeralds for eyes.

Upon reaching their fifth birthday, it was customary that a Lignumi noble would receive a necklace of their banner animal, the symbol that was used in all of a person's decorations and addresses. The swan was Sarah's banner animal, and the colours bronze and emerald were the royal colours of Lignum. For now she was only allowed to wear it on special occasions, but when she got older she would be allowed to wear it all the time.

She couldn't wait to get older.

Halfway through the ceremony, Sarah gave up entirely on paying attention. Instead she allowed her mind to wander as she looked through the crowd at all the subjects who had shown up to honour the deceased Queen.

Her eyes set on a woman standing at the back of the crowd.

Without a doubt, it was the most beautiful woman Sarah had ever seen. She was as tall as Dunstan and clothed in a beautiful green dress. Her wavy auburn hair fell past her waist. She had soft pink lips, the smooth tan complexion of the Ignisians, and sharp hazel eyes that favoured the colour brown. But those eyes, they weren't a friendly sharp like Dunstan's gaze, no, that gaze felt very dangerous to Sarah. She didn't like looking at the woman, yet she somehow couldn't tear her eyes away.

Suddenly, as if sensing the Princess was watching her, the sharp gaze snapped upon Sarah.

The beautiful woman frowned at the Princess and took in the sight of the young child. Sarah daren't move, she daren't breathe, and she daren't speak. The woman observed the Princess' hair, her eyes, her clothes, and finally settled on Sarah's necklace.

The sharp gaze wasn't nearly as terrible as the look on the woman's face now.

Carefully the woman began to make her way through the crowd towards the little Princess.

Sarah wanted to run, to hide, to shout, to do something, but she was frozen with fear. Then without any warning, the woman stopped, and in the blink of an eye the woman completely vanished.

"Are you alright?" a hand clasped Sarah's trembling shoulder. It was Henry, another one of the Dwarves and Sarah's personal favorite of the lot.

Sarah wordlessly nodded and Henry sent a glance to Richard, who was looking on with concern. Richard did his best to tuck Sarah tighter into his embrace, but it was difficult with the twins. He must have jostled them the wrong way because one suddenly let out a piercing scream. The ceremony was immediately halted as Richard attempted to calm down the crying twin.

Sarah watched as Aunt Snow and Aunt Rose tried to help her Daddy with the baby. It was the brown haired one that was crying.

A thought suddenly occurred to Sarah. Could one of her Aunts be her new Mommy? No, they had Uncle Will and Uncle Dunstan, plus Aunt Rose had that no good Patrick to take care of. But her family needed a Mommy, and they needed a Mommy right now.

Then it hit her.

"Can I try?" Sarah asked.

Everyone stared at the little Princess.

"I'm sorry?" Richard blinked at his daughter.

"I want to try." Sarah stretched out her arms, "Please?"

Richard sent a hesitant look to Rose.

The Terran just shrugged, "Why not?"

Carefully, Richard handed the brown haired twin into the arms of his eldest daughter, watching her with a little bit of concern.

"Now, be careful with Jane," Richard instructed, correcting Sarah's hold on the twin.

"Is that her name?" Sarah asked, and for some reason, the baby was starting to calm down.

"Yeah," Richard smiled. He gestured to the blonde in his other arm, "And this is Avery."

"Hi, Jane," Sarah smiled at her little sister, and the baby gurgled at the blonde Princess.

Yes, she could do this. _She _could be the Mommy. Then Daddy didn't have to marry some evil Step-Mother who would try to poison Sarah or any of the girls. Sarah would be Jane's Mommy, and Avery's Mommy, and all the other babies' Mommy.

She had no choice.

If that scary woman was going to be around, she _had _to protect them.

She _had _to be the Mommy.


	3. Unbreaking the Cycle

_Eleven Years Later…_

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

Unbreaking the Cycle

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><p>The whole country was busy preparing for the festival, so it was only natural that Sarah was stuck in the library doing homework.<p>

Now, to be fair, she was technically on the library's balcony overlooking the city of Silvus as its citizens scurried around like little ants going about their business, but it was a library nonetheless.

Ironically the homework was on the history of the festival, the heart-breaking tale of the Ignisian Princess, Mina, and her Lignumi lover. The Festival of Mina was one of the more exciting holidays in Lignum, and as the second born of King Richard Stagheart, Sarah was expected to be well-versed in the tale of how the alliance between the kingdoms of Lignum and Ignis was destroyed.

She was also expected to attend the Festival, which would be fine… if only she wasn't an unattached sixteen-year-old. The Festival of Mina was born of a tragic love story, so naturally it was a festival celebrating love, and the main event, the Dance of Mina was nothing more than an elaborate matchmaking scheme, one the Princess was required to perform.

Sarah sighed, scratching out her scribbling on the parchment in front of her, trying to get the wording just right for Tutor Nestor. Princess or peasant, Nestor expected nothing short of perfection from all his students, and more often than not, Sarah had to comfort her siblings when the harshness of the teacher got too much for them.

After all, that was her role to them: Protector, Comforter, and above all, Mother.

A slight breeze shook the balcony, but Sarah held faith in the roots of the strong Palace of Silvus which was quite literally a forest. Connected by mainly other planks of wood, the structure was one giant mass of trees that her father liked to jokingly call a glorified treehouse. The reason for the curious design was that during the formation of the Kingdoms of Elementum, Lignum's first king, King Oliver, had chosen to base his kingdom on the element of wood. The other four kingdoms were based on the other elements, and each guided the kingdoms in their customs, dictating building materials, coming of age ceremonies, and even methods of execution.

"Oh, come on Avery!" a voice broke Sarah's thoughts. "It's boring in here!"

Sarah smiled to herself as she glanced back into the library and observed her only companions. A young brunette girl was tugging on the arm of a boy who was seated in one of the giant armchairs that adorned the spacious archive. His concentration was similar to what the eldest Princess' had been: very focused and only barely registering his younger sister's begging. Indeed, he seemed so focused that he didn't even take the time to brush the blonde hair from his eyes.

This dynamic was nothing new for the young duo; they were Jane and Avery, the youngest children of Richard Stagheart of his famous eight. Jane was the youngest of all the children, and the most energetic, though that title was rivalled very closely by Caye, the sixth child of Richard. However, being twelve, Caye had gotten to that age where he felt it was beneath him to play with his little sister, and Jane was stuck mostly trying to get games out of her twin who would much rather sit around and read books all day.

"Then go find somewhere else to play," Avery didn't look up from his book. "I'm busy reading."

Jane glared at her twin, "You'd play with me if Daphne was around."

"I would not," Avery flushed; his obvious crush on the thirteen year old stable girl was the most popular teasing topic among the Lignumi siblings.

"Yes, you would," Sarah grinned, catching the attention of her siblings. "You spent an entire day, last week, mucking out stalls because you accidentally stepped on her toe."

As Jane's laughter rung out, Avery buried his blushing face even further into his book… if that was possible.

"Why don't you try Lindsey?" Sarah suggested their middle sister. "I'm sure she'd love to play with you."

"Nah," Jane smirked leaning against Avery's armchair, much to his annoyance. "She's playing with Nathaniel."

Lindsey's _friendship_ with the servant Nathaniel was the second most popular teasing topic.

"Well, after I'm done my work, how about I play with you?" Sarah offered.

"Really?"

"Of course. But only after I finish my work."

"Okay!" Jane scrambled onto the balcony and wrapped her arms around Sarah's shoulders.

Sarah patted Jane's arm and went back to reading her book, though her concentration fought to direct itself onto the youngest Princess. The people of Lignum sometimes called Sarah "Princess Mother" due to having taking an active role in raising her younger siblings.

As Sarah had gotten older, she had learned the full story of how her Mother fell to her death. When Richard and Elizabeth were younger, they had had the misfortune of crossing the Fallen Star, Maeveen Rayshine. The Fallen Star was the only daughter of the Tyrant Star, Celestella, who used to rule the lands of Elementum until she was overthrown by the powerful Star, Asteria Queensky and her companions, the first kings and queens of the Kingdoms of Elementum. As an act of mercy, Maeveen had been granted clemency, but was banished from Aqua, the land Asteria established as the Stars' kingdom.

Since then Maeveen had attempted several times to lay claim to a new throne, and some twenty years ago she tried to take the kingdom of Terra. Elizabeth's father had been the steward to its throne, and after clearing her opponents, the only thing that stood in Maeveen's way was Elizabeth. The story that ensued involved a huntsman, a poisoned apple, and a gang of seven men, but the details weren't that important. All that mattered was that several attempts were made on Elizabeth's life, and due to already being a rather slight woman, the assassination attempts had weakened her body. After giving birth to four children, and then two sets of twins, Elizabeth couldn't handle it anymore and her body simply gave out.

Truth be told, Sarah couldn't remember her mother very well.

"What are you writing about?" Jane asked, boredom finally overtaking her.

"Mina," Sarah replied scratching down a note.

"Oh," Jane nodded. "… What's a Mina?"

Sarah gently shook her head, "She was an Ignisian Princess who loved a Prince of Lignum, but her brother, the King, had plans to take over Lignum and killed Mina when she warned her lover about the impending attack."

"And then her lover and brother dramatically fought a duel as she lay dying," a mocking voice continued the tale as it drifted in from the library's entrance. A tall young man smirked at the Princesses. "And the lover slew the wicked King, but not before receiving a fatal wound. Then in a tragic ending her lover held Mina in his arms, and as the life slowly ebbed from them, he gently pressed his lips to hers, sealing their deaths with a kiss."

The sisters glared at the newcomer as he sauntered into the library, toward the balcony. He had bright blonde hair, green eyes, and shared Jane's ever so slightly tanned complexion.

"Andrew," Sarah warned her elder brother as he came to a stop in front of them.

"What?" the Crown Prince smirked. "I'm just telling our dear little sister the epic romance of Mina and the guy no one's bothered to remember the name of."

"His name was Linden," Sarah replied, gently shrugging her sister off her shoulders.

"You only know that because you read the book."

"Just because you're not into romances, doesn't mean you have to make fun of them."

"I know," Andrew grinned. "That doesn't mean it isn't fun."

"Aren't you supposed to be in King Lessons?" Sarah rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to smack her brother with her heavy tome.

"Done for the day," Andrew replied, watching as Jane wandered over to the railing. "Dad's busy prepping for the Festival and waiting for the party to arrive."

"They're here!" Jane exclaimed.

Sharing a quick look with Sarah, Andrew joined Jane at the railing. Sarah put away her school supplies inside the library, and nudged Avery. The Prince tossed his book into a random stack, and the siblings joined Andrew and Jane at the balcony railing.

Riding off in the distance, nearing the walls that separated the city of Silvus from the Palace, was a small, but heavily armed, riding party. There were about half a dozen personal guards flanking a large middle aged man on a grand horse. Behind him were several Lordly figures and on either side were men carrying a violet banner bearing the image of an onyx mountain.

The siblings shared quick glances between them.

"Last one to Uncle Will has to muck out Dad's stable!" Jane suddenly cried before dashing out of the library, her siblings quickly on her heels. All were eager to see their dear friend and Godfather, William, the King of Terra.

The servants knew that when they saw the royal children running down the hallway, that it was best to just get out of the way, especially when it involved a visit from King William and there was a whole pack of them. In fact, the children were so used to this accommodation, that the children never thought to even slow down when taking corners.

SMACK!

It was a domino effect. Rounding the corner, Andrew, the fastest, had practically bowled over as he collided with some poor fool who had the misfortune of not hearing the children's approach. Jane was next, tripping over her eldest brother and the stranger. Then down went Sarah, and finally Avery joined the pile. As the siblings disentangled themselves, they were finally able to identify their victim; their brother, Eric.

The third born was the perfect image of their father. Bearing short brown hair and forest green eyes, the fourteen year old boy had been the first child to not inherit their mother's blonde haired, blue eyed features, though he shared his mother's ever so lightly tanned complexion, which had been the testament of Elizabeth's Radix heritage.

"What's going on?" Eric rubbed his head, which Andrew had accidentally smacked against the floor.

"No time to explain! Got to go!" Andrew pushed himself off the floor.

He made to dash down the hall, but Sarah caught her elder brother by the collar, and yanked Andrew to a halt.

"Relax," Sarah ordered. Releasing Andrew's shirt, Sarah turned to Jane and as she helped her little sister up, "King William's arriving and we should all be there to greet him. Do you know where the others are?"

"Lindsey's with Nathaniel, of course," Eric bitterly shook his head. He was closer to his younger sister than the rest of his siblings, and he didn't exactly approve of her growing interest in boys. "As for Blonde One and Blonde Two, I have no idea, though I'd like to get my hands on Blonde Two."

"What'd Caye do now?" Avery asked as he brushed himself off.

Eric scowled, "The little brat put sand in my bed again. There you are!"

The brunette Prince grabbed a young blonde boy who had been casually turning the corner.

"You have some nerve, Caye!" Eric brought him face to face, glaring into the boy's bright blue eyes.

The boy frowned, "I'm not Caye."

"A likely story," Eric's grip tightened on the boy's collar.

"And a true one," The boy reached into his shirt and revealed a chain around his neck, attached to which was a bronze horse pendant with two small emeralds serving as eyes.

"Oh, sorry Cayden," Eric released the boy recognizing the banner animal of the elder blonde twin.

"Happens all the time," Cayden sighed, being constantly mistaking for his younger mischievous twin was a fact of life he had accepted, but that didn't mean he liked it. "What'd the evil twin do this time?"

"Sand in Eric's bed," Sarah replied.

"Oh, the usual," Cayden shrugged. "Well, I haven't seen him, but if I do, I'll let you know."

"Wait, you have to come with us!" Andrew grabbed Cayden's arm.

"And why do I have to do that?" Cayden arched a brow.

"Uncle Will's here!" Jane clapped her hands together in excitement.

Cayden smiled, "Well, I guess that means only one thing."

"And what's that?" Andrew asked.

"That I'm going to get there first!" Cayden bolted down the hall.

"Cheater!" Sarah called, laughing as the siblings chased after their brother.

When they finally reached the front entrance of the castle, and Eric won the race, they were met with a scene of pure chaos. Servants and Nobles were scampering around trying to get either to their proper spots are simply out of the way as the Terran party grew ever closer to the palace.

As King Richard was directing the horde as best he could, Sarah saw Lindsey standing next to him. The thirteen year old was the spitting image of their mother, but with their father's green eyes.

Her friend, Nathaniel, stood with Lindsey and Richard, but when the King caught sight of his children, he simply snapped at Nathaniel, and the young servant boy scampered back into the castle. Richard then motioned at Sarah and Andrew, and the two eldest children set about rearranging their siblings so that Richard stood at the head of the line, followed by the children in birth order.

"Where's Caye?" Richard muttered, noticing the gap in the line as Andrew and Sarah took their places next to him.

"We don't know," Andrew answered as the Terrans entered the circular plaza. "But Eric's called first blood."

Richard just smiled and shook his head; with eight children there certainly was never a dull moment.

"Stagheart!"

Richard's head snapped back to the arrived party and smiled at his addresser, "Bearstone."

Upon William's ascension to the throne of Terra, he had been given the new surname of Kingstone to fit his new position, but to Richard he would always be William Bearstone, the Bear Prince. It was a rather fitting nickname for the man; he was very strong and broad with shaggy black hair and a copper complexion. He very much looked like a bear in human form.

Plus there was the fact William had once spent a year wandering the wilds of Terra, transformed into a bear, but that's another story.

William dismounted his horse and pulled the other king into an embrace, "It has been too long."

"But not without reason," Richard pulled back and clapped William's shoulder. "We were sorry to hear about Dunstan, he was a great man."

"You're only saying that because he didn't kill Elizabeth when Maeveen ordered him to," William laughed brushing from his shoulder an autumn leaf that had fallen from one of the oak trees that lined the plaza. "You have more affection for your so called Dwarves."

"But no less gratitude for his actions," Richard smiled as bittersweet memories of William's Captain of the Guard ran through his mind. "He was a great man and a loyal friend."

"Thank you," the Terran King shifted uncomfortably. After a silent pause, William's famous grin spread across his face, "Now, let's not dampen the mood! Aren't we here for a festival?"

"Not for a few weeks yet," Richard chuckled. "Now, you remember the children?"

"How could I forget?" William turned to face the youngsters, "Though there's so many of them that I'm liable to have forgotten half their names."

"I think all would forgive you, Your Majesty," Sarah curtsied. "Most of them forget half of our names anyway."

William respectfully bowed back to the Princess.

"You are far too kind my dear, Odette," William addressed her with a wink.

He dare not voice her real name. In Lignum it was tradition for their own protection, that, except for the Crown Heir, all children of the King went by a different name publically until they came of age. As far as anyone outside of the Palace was concerned, Sarah was called Odette.

"It's good to see you again, Your Majesty," Andrew bowed and motioned for the rest of his siblings to do the same.

"How in Hesperus' name did you get such well-behaved children, Richard?" Before the question could be answered, William let out a deep throaty laugh, "Actually, the real question is how you got so many children?"

Richard gave usual response, "I had an affectionate wife."

"Indeed," William waggled his eyebrows, eyes sweeping across the line of children. Suddenly the Bear King frowned, "Forgive me if I'm wrong, Stagheart, but don't you have eight children? I only count seven."

"Unfortunately, I can't seem to locate our dear Bernard," Richard scanned the plaza once more for Caye. "But I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere."

CRACK!

Cayden yanked Lindsey out of the way as a branch broke from one of the trees lining the plaza and it was sent hurtling to the ground. It landed with a great thud in front of Eric, and when the dust settled, the cause of the breakage was very clear: Caye was clinging to the branch, having hidden from his brother in the tree above.

"You!" Eric snapped and lunged at Caye.

The younger boy instantly ducked behind his twin and Lindsey, and what ensued was a rather grand game of cat and mouse.

Richard laughed heartily as he watched his boys running around the plaza while Sarah tried to get them under control. Suddenly Richard felt a hand on his shoulder.

"We must speak privately," William whispered in the Lignumi King's ear. "I have business."

Richard nodded, "My office."

* * *

><p>"So," Richard shut the door behind the Terran King. "How's Patrick doing? I remember he was pretty bad when we lost Rose, and now with Dunstan gone… Well…"<p>

"He's doing alright," William sighed, observing a large framed portrait upon the wall. It was a picture of much younger versions of Richard, Elizabeth, Snow, William, Rose, and Dunstan. "I moved Patrick from Commeio to Arva. I figured it was best he was around family, and since my wife was his mother's sister, I'm the best he has left."

"It's good to hear he's alright, he did get to a pretty dark place not to long ago," Richard clapped his friend's shoulder before rounding his desk and taking a seat. "Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Right," William sighed heavily. He gave one last longing glance at the portrait before taking the seat across from his friend. "Richard, there's been a horrible crime committed."

Richard frowned, "What is it?"

"The bond between Lignum and Ignis has been broken."

Richard slumped back in his chair and groaned, "William, it's been broken for _500 years_."

"And that's not an issue?" William shot. "And what about Metallum, Richard? You're not on good terms with them either."

"Hey, it's not my fault they tried to invade us."

"That was _300 _years ago!"

"And what's your point?"

"Richard," William took a deep breath. "I want you to reform the alliances."

"The hell I will!" Richard yelled, green eyes flashing dangerously. "And if that's all you came here for, then don't let the door hit you on the way out."

"Richard, hear me out! Please!"

"Why should I?"

"Because if the friendship we've held for over twenty years means _anything _to you, you will honour it by letting me say my peace."

Richard glared at the Terran King, "I hate it when you play the friendship card. Alright, let's hear it."

William exhaled deeply, "Richard, I know our countries are different sometimes. Terra has forgiven Ignis and Metallum for their mistakes while Lignum keeps their borders closed. But even though you were born into your role while I was elected into mine, upon the day we were put into our offices we both swore an oath to _never _break the bond."

Richard sighed, William was right, as the King of Lignum he had sworn to uphold the sacred vow to never break the elemental cycle. It was the same one the first Kings and Queens of the kingdoms of Elementum had sworn at the formation of the kingdoms in what was called The Treaty of the Lands. It was more than just a metaphor for each kingdom; it was their way of acknowledging that without the elements, upon which the magic of the Stars was based, they never would have overthrown the Tyrant Star, Celestella. It was the sacred promise to never let the land of Elementum return to the waste the Tyrant had made it.

William stared hard at Richard, "You do remember the words of the Treaty, don't you Richard?"

Richard closed his eyes, "William-"

"The circle never ends. Wood to Fire. Fire to Earth. Earth to Metal. Metal to Water. Water to Wood. Forever connected; forever one. These are the foundations upon which our world is built. Never-"

"Never deceive; never destroy. Never weaken the connection; never break the bond. Always remain as one," Richard finished William's recitation. The King of Lignum sighed, rubbing the tension built in his temples. As he spoke it was clear that there was a sense of defeat in his voice, "But William, how do I know I can trust them?"

"Unfortunately you may not have a choice." William looked over his friend accusingly, "That is, if the rumors I'm hearing are true."

Richard looked away from the Terran King, "So you've heard about Maeveen."

"Is it true?"

"Unfortunately, yes. She has been sighted in the area of Succendens, and that dwarf Star Ormr is said to be with her."

The term Dwarf had come from one of the first Fallen Stars, a particularly aggravating Star that had been born with Dwarfism, whose sole purpose seemed to be to cause trouble. Since then, unfortunately Fallen Stars had been referred to as Dwarves, but the only real one with Dwarfism that had been seen in recent memory was one named Ormr, a particularly vicious imp that had once made William's life a living hell.

"Richard, Succendens practically sits on the border of Terra. Exactly when were you going to tell me about this?" William demanded, his composure waning.

Richard groaned, "I was going to wait to see if it became a threat before I sounded any alarms."

"It's Maeveen, she's _always _a threat! Or do you forget what she did to Elizabeth?"

It was one word too far, for the next thing William knew, Richard had him by the shirt collar slammed against the flat of the desk. Richard didn't even flinch as he sent items clattering to the ground.

"I will _never _forget what Maeveen did," Richard's eyes flashed dangerously.

The Kings stayed locked in that position, William dare not saying a word. Then, suddenly, as if the situation of the matter had just occurred to Richard, the Lignumi King burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry," Richard released his friend. "I shouldn't have done that."

"No," William smirked brushing himself off, "I was asking for that."

"Propriety dictates that a king should have composure at all times."

"Richard, I spent a year running around my kingdom as a bear. Any notions of propriety I had are long gone."

"It's not like you weren't asking for it. You were such an arrogant sod back then," Richard laughed as the Kings sat back down. "But honestly, William, how can I trust Ignis and Metallum? The only time I have met either country's ruler was almost seventeen years ago at the Cycle Ceremony for Queen Asteria's daughter. What was her name? Lauren?"

"I think it's Larissa," William corrected. "Or maybe Lisle."

"The point is I've met them once, and now both of those rulers are dead. All I can take from that is that Asteria trusted them enough to come to Aqua."

"But that's exactly how you can trust Ignis! Didn't you hear? Three years ago, Asteria sent her daughter to live in the Palace of Calor as an Aquanian ambassador. If Asteria can trust them with that, then I'm sure that you can trust them enough to reform the alliance between Lignum and Ignis."

"But what about Metallum?"

"Oh, never trust Metallites," William waved off. "Courtesy to them is stabbing you in the front, rather than the back."

Richard raised a brow, "And, _why _would I want to make an alliance with them?"

"Because while the Metallites can be your deadliest enemy, they can also be your greatest ally."

Richard sighed, rubbing his forehead as he processed all of his information and weighed all the options.

"William," Richard frowned, "I just don't know."

"Richard," William's voice was uncharacteristically serious, "if Maeveen attacks us again, the _only _thing that can defeat her is when all five elements work together in harmony. Think about your people, your kingdom, and your family. What would you do to protect them?"

"Anything," Richard replied without hesitation. "But how exactly would you suggest I extend the intention of alliance to Metallum and Ignis?"

"Well you could always invite them to the Festival of Mina like you do to Terra," William suggested.

Richard sighed heavily, defeat written all over his face. He had to do this for his family.

"Alright," Richard said, "I'll host Ignis and Metallum for the festival."

"Good," William grinned. "Because I invited them last week. The invitations should be arriving today."

"YOU WHAT?"

"Oh, cheer up Richard!" William laughed. "Who knows? Maybe your girls will like one of their Princes."

William wasn't quite sure why Richard began banging his head against the desk.


	4. Land of Fire

Chapter Three

Land of Fire

* * *

><p>The blade flashed in the sun as the hot metal drove down towards the Ignisian Prince's head. Christian barely had time to process his actions as instinct kicked in and he automatically parried away the death blow. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Prince had fallen into the dark haired man's trap. The rival's blade had been forced toward the ground toward his favored side, and before the Prince could make his riposte, his rival made a strong swipe at Christian's feet. The Prince was only <em>just <em>able to jump out of the way.

Or so he thought.

It was a trick. The blade caught Christian's right ankle ever so slightly and the Prince cried out in pain as the sharp metal sliced the fragile skin. Taking advantage of the young man's break of focus, the dark haired man threw himself forward into the Prince. Christian had made the mistake of moving his weight onto his left ankle when his rival slammed into him. Contact lasted for only a second or two, pinning the flat of Christian's sword against his torso upon impact. The combination of Christian's obscured center of gravity and the weight of the man's attack was critical and quickly the Ignisian Prince was sent hurtling to the ground.

Christian slammed against the earth, knocking the breath from his body. The Prince gasped, attempting to return the air to his stinging lungs. Slowly, the opponent approached Christian and carefully placed the sharp point of his blade to the Prince's neck. It would take less than a pound of pressure to end the royal's life.

The opponent smirked, "Match."

Smiling at the young Prince, the dark haired man moved the blade from Christian's neck and extended his hand. Christian grinned up at his attacker and graciously accepted the hand of his loyal Captain of the Guard, Kennard.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times, Christian," Kennard pulled up the Prince and handed him his formerly discarded sword. "Do not relax your grip when moving your feet. It allows your opponent it catch you off guard, and then losing a foot is a lot preferable an alternative."

"I wasn't expecting that move," Christian replied shifting his weight onto his left ankle. The injury wouldn't be fatal, but it was an annoyance.

"You should expect every move," a snide voice called from the side. The two competitors looked over at their little group of spectators; among them stood a tall middle-aged man. His posture was proud with arms sat crossed in front of him defensively as he stood next to his beautiful wife. He was tanned like most Ignisians but his skin had a certain paleness to it that stood as a testament to his mixed royal lineage. His black hair was styled in the short modest fashion of traditional Ignisian Lordship, and his face bore a neatly trimmed goatee that was a little more than stubble. His eyes were sharp and searching like the falcon he bore as his banner animal, and they were the exact same dark brown shade as Christian's.

"Uncle Marcus," Christian pushed a rebellious lock of hair from his eyes, embarrassed to meet the man's hardened gaze. The young prince kept his messy dark brown hair at a longer length than what most Ignisians would consider acceptable, a point which his uncle ensured he never forgot.

Marcus held a hard frown as he observed his nephew, "As future king, you need to be on guard at every moment, ready for anything."

"He's right," Kennard agreed politely from Christian's side, he was always one to support the Prince, but he still called a spade a spade. "When you become king you'll need to handle any situation, whether it be domestic or military. You'll need to handle anything the Stars can throw at you… No offence Larissa."

"None taken," the Aquanian Princess replied as she watched the exchange from the sidelines.

Christian grinned at the blonde Star as he leaned upon a tree and checked his ankle. There was a slight scratch and a little blood, but nothing to worry about. Kennard had been very deliberate in giving the injury, knowing that he required less force when practicing with Christian, especially on days such as this when the Prince wore no armour. All in all the injury was a barely more drastic than a scraped knee.

"How is it?" Larissa approached the Ignisian Prince, looking over his ankle. "If you want, I can use a little magic to heal it."

"No, that's alright," Christian laughed, "as long as I don't put too much weight on it I should be fine. Besides, we all know what happened the last time you decided to help the healing process."

The Aquanian Princess blushed at the memory and playfully smacked Christian on the arm, "Says the man who suggested it."

Larissa was a young star, only approaching her second decade and as such she hadn't quite gotten a good handle on controlling her magic yet. Due to the fact that she was Asteria's daughter, everyone had expected Larissa to be of great power, but it turned out that she was of less than average power and Asteria had to find other ways to use her daughter.

All Stars could perform basic magic: healing, shape shifting, control of the elements and whatnot, but every Star was also born with a special gift, a magical ability that none other could do. Her mother had the ability to see all that could be and would be, and her father was able to influence the actions of a person to do what he wanted. Larissa had surprisingly yet to discover hers, something that greatly worried those around her as most Stars discovered their gift shortly after their first decade. But one thing was clear, Larissa's gift it had _nothing_ to do with healing.

"Yes, well, still, I'd like to keep my ankle, injured or not," Christian laughed.

"Come on, Christian," another voice teased, "it didn't take her that long to replace your finger."

"If you remember, she had to call in another Star for help," Christian shot a joking eye roll to the speaker.

"Oh you are such a baby," the speaker gave a fake scoff.

Standing next to Larissa was the only Ignisian Christian truly called his friend. Her name was Felicity Hummingflame, and she was the daughter of one of Lords of the Council, the lawmaking group of Ignis that Christian would one day oversee as King.

Felicity was a beautiful young woman, a fawn coloured complexion, long, slightly wavy, brown hair, deep russet eyes, a slender build and standing a little higher than average height. Her beauty and closeness to the Crown Prince had led to many whispered suggestions of her possibly filling the role of Christian's Consort, though to him she was nothing but a close friend, a notion shared by the Lord's daughter.

"Mockery," Christian shook his head. "Is that all I get from my friends?"

"It is if you choose to make company with only women," spoke a tall, gruff, young man from Larissa's other side.

"Thanks, Victor," Christian rolled his eyes at his cousin, and the Star swatted the young man.

"Do you want to take a turn, Your Highness?" Kennard offered Marcus' son.

"Uh," Victor shot a nervous look over at the beautiful woman who stood silently next to Marcus.

"Victor will not train today," the woman answered.

"Are you sure, Milady?" Kennard was careful not to meet her eyes.

"I agree with my wife," Marcus nodded. "Lady Penelope is correct in her summation of Victor's skills. My son is not as clumsy on the battlefield as my nephew."

"As you wish, My Lord," Kennard glanced over at Christian. The Crown Prince's eyes were lowered to the ground and his jaw was firmly set. "Shall we start again in five minutes, Your Highness?"

"No," Christian kept his eyes down. "I'm done for today."

Kennard dared a glance over at Penelope. She smiled slightly at the guard and then quickly looked back away from him.

"Of course, Your Highness," Kennard bowed his head.

"Your Highnesses!"

Everyone turned to see two men crossing the training lawn urgently. One man had a hard but welcoming face, with blondish brown hair and the grey eyes that could only be found on those born of Ignisian or Metallite blood. The other was a bearded man with jet black hair and hard grey eyes. He held his head high as if to look down upon everyone and his expression was a permanent fixture of arrogant annoyance.

"Lords Sebastian and Tyrone," Christian inclined his head respectfully.

"Hi, Daddy," Felicity waved to Sebastian who smiled at her.

"What brings you out here, My Lords?" Marcus addressed both men, though his gaze with clearly fixed on Tyrone, his well-known, most trusted ally.

"An urgent message from Terra," Sebastian answered as Tyrone produced a letter from his breast pocket.

"Trouble?" Kennard raised a brow, his hand automatically resting on his sword hilt.

"Hard to tell," Sebastian replied. "It's an invitation."

"To what? The funeral of that Captain of his?" Marcus frowned.

"No, that was last month," Sebastian shook his head. "This is to Lignum's Festival of Mina."

Christian's eyes went wide, "What?"

"Let me see that," Marcus snatched the letter from Tyrone.

"Naturally we suspect a trap," came Tyrone's dry drone. "Why else would Lignum want to contact us?"

"Lignum? I thought it was from Terra," Penelope peered over her husband's shoulder at the letter. Marcus met her eyes with a stern look and she withdrew herself, meekly muttering, "I almost wonder if King Richard knows."

Kennard glanced at Penelope, encouraging her input, "Well, does anyone know enough about Richard to make that judgement?"

Everyone turned and looked at Larissa.

The Star looked offended, "What? Because I'm Aquanian, you all automatically assume I know about Lignum?"

"Aqua and Lignum are at peace; you'd be a better bet than any Ignisian," Christian pointed out.

"I've never even set foot in Lignum!" Larissa cried. "Much less can give you a character reference for their King."

"Inviting us to Lignum without checking with Richard first, does sound like something William would do," Sebastian offered. "Marcus, your brother and his wife once met Richard, correct?"

"At her Cycle Ceremony," Marcus jerked his head at Larissa, his tone clearly reading that he didn't like the subject. "What of it?"

"Well, did they ever mention Richard's relationship with William?" Sebastian asked.

"Not that I recall," Marcus shook his head.

"Alanea said that they seemed close," Kennard interrupted.

Everyone stared at the Captain; Marcus especially giving him a dirty look.

Kennard lowered his head in obedience, "I mean, Her Majesty, the Queen, may she rest in peace. Forgive me for my liberties."

"Did the Queen say they were close enough for William to do this?" Sebastian pushed the Captain for an answer.

"She said that they were close enough to be brothers," Kennard replied sadly; he really shouldn't speak of his familiarities with the Queen.

Tyrone smirked, "That's not always a good thing. Right, Lord Marcus?"

Marcus' glare at Kennard was nothing compared to his glare at Tyrone. Marcus' rivalry with his late brother, Dorian, was not a subject spoken of lightly.

"So the question is what do we do about this invitation?" Sebastian attempted to keep things civil and on track.

"Refuse it," Christian shrugged. "We have our own Festival of Mina to put on; it's not just a Lignumi celebration, but an Ignisian one too."

"Yeah, about how you guys killed a bunch of people in a failed attempt to overthrow the Lignumi rulers," Larissa pointed out.

Christian shot her a look, "You want to talk about killing to overthrow someone? Remind me how your mother came into power."

"Christian!" Kennard snapped. Everyone stared at the guard again; a Captain of the Guard may be a high rank, but certainly not high enough to scold the Prince by his first name. "I mean, Your Highness, I don't think you should turn down the invitation."

"Why not?" Christian frowned.

"Doesn't he know what this means?" Tyrone smirked at Marcus.

"Clearly not," Marcus shot his nephew a pointed look.

"What? What does it mean?" Christian looked around at the Lords, his naïveté showing through.

"Christian," Sebastian kindly replied, "it means that Lignum wants to reform our alliance."

The Crown Prince's eyes widened, "Do we want that?"

"It's up to you," Sebastian shrugged. "Your Uncle may be the Regent until you meet the qualifications to be crowned King, but when it comes to forming and breaking alliances, as future King, you make those decisions."

"But I've never made a decision like that before." Christian looked to Kennard, "What do I do?"

Kennard glanced over at Marcus, "You probably should ask your Uncle."

"But I want _your _opinion," Christian pleaded. "Is it safer to have them as a friend or a foe?"

"Lignum is peaceful," Kennard sighed, ignoring Marcus' hard glare, "but it is also the largest Kingdom of Elementum. They have many resources, and as such the ability to be a powerful enemy. They crushed us when Mina's brother attempted to take Lignum. But what worries me the most is the rumors."

Christian frowned, "What rumors?"

"Rumor has it," Kennard looked directly at Larissa, something fatherly filling his voice and look, "that Maeveen has been spotted in Lignum."

The Aquanian Princess shuddered, a chill running down her spine.

"Maeveen?" Christian swallowed hard glancing at his Aquanian friend in fear. "But she was defeated!"

"Maeveen can never be defeated," Larissa whispered, her eyes clasped shut as if seeing some great horror behind the lids. "Not yet. Not while… Not yet."

Felicity stared at the Aquanian Princess, gently rubbing her friend's shoulder trying to calm and comfort Larissa.

"Do we know what Maeveen might be planning?" Felicity carefully asked the group.

"It's Maeveen," Larissa took a deep, albeit shaky, breath. "She wants two things: a kingdom, and my Mother's death. Though she'll gladly settle for mine instead."

"What?" Christian's head snapped towards the Star. "No! She can't- How can we stop her?"

"Her mother, Celestella, the Tyrant, she was destroyed when the elements were in harmony," Larissa answered something unknown stirring in her voice. "It's going to take nothing less than that."

"Christian," Marcus interrupted. "I highly doubt that anyone here is going to be the key to taking down the Tyrant's Daughter, so let's stop entertaining that notion."

"But if we can be a part of making that happen, then I want to do it." Christian looked back at Sebastian with determination, "I've made my decision. Send a message to Lignum, and tell them that if they are willing, Ignis will mend our ties."

"But Christian, any treaty you sign now won't go into effect until your coronation," Marcus pointed out.

"Then we'll trust Lignum to unofficially honour our agreement until then, and we will do the same," Christian replied. "I won't let harm come to my kingdom, or my friends. Sebastian, how long before you can have a reply put together for me to sign?"

"Give me half an hour, Your Highness," Sebastian answered.

"Granted," Christian inclined his head.

"Thank you, I'll take my leave now," Sebastian bowed and headed back across the lawn as the group broke out into several small conversations about Lignum.

"Oh this is exciting!" Felicity clapped her hands together. "I hear Lignum is just beautiful, especially in the fall. Oh, I would love the chance to see it someday."

"As long as you bring me," Victor grinned at the Lord's Daughter. "I heard the eldest Princess is war worthy beautiful. If the rumors are true, I'd fight Christian any day for a chance at her."

"Larissa, if you would?" Christian glared at his cousin.

"Of course," Larissa smiled.

The Star Princess smacked Victor hard across the arm.

"Ow!"

"Are you sure about this?" Marcus hissed in Tyrone's ear as they watched the teenagers joke around. "An alliance with Lignum could ruin with our plans."

"Our plans will be fine as long as you remember to only speak of them to me in private," Tyrone snapped.

Marcus frowned, "Lord Tyrone, do _not _take such a familiar tone with-"

"You will get what you were promised," Tyrone shushed his disgruntled companion. "Besides, if Lignum does become a problem, everyone knows that if there's anything fire dominates, it's wood and metal."


	5. Flash of Metal

Chapter Four

Flash of Metal

* * *

><p>The fire flickered dangerously in the corner of Adara's eye.<p>

The young Metallite was alone in the drawing room, with the exception of the handmaiden she had received for her birthday the previous week. The handmaiden had busied herself with dusting the furniture, not yet aware of the effect fire had on the young Princess.

Adara sat in the corner chair, furiously trying to concentrate on the novel she had in her grasp, but the deadly flames proved too much a distraction as they precariously danced in the fireplace.

Lowering the book, Adara stared carefully at the flames. She shuddered at the orange tongues, and without thought, she pulled her long hair in front of the ugly burns that scarred the upper right side of her face. Smooth bronze skin, straight rich black hair, copper eyes and a dazzling smile (that is, when you got to see it, which was rarely, if ever), Adara had once had the chance to be quite beautiful. Sure, she was far too short for her age, hadn't exactly developed well enough yet, and had only just passed her twelfth birthday, but her potential for beauty had once been great.

Then it was all stolen from her six years ago when she had burned her face in the very fireplace that was taunting her now.

"_Focus, Adara," _she told herself, returning her attention to her book.

_And so it was through the combined efforts of Asteria, Hesperus, Lorelei, Zayna, Tyson, and Oliver, that the Tyrant Star, Celestella, was defeated._

The flames danced seductively in the corner of Adara's vision.

_As a show of mercy, Celestella's daughter, Maeveen, was spared, but as a precaution of her cruel nature and Asteria's betrayal, Maeveen was branded a Fallen Star and exiled from her mother's palace of Pluvia._

It was like the fire was taunting her.

_Soon after Asteria and Hesperus were married, and with the help of their friends, the group tamed the wild world and named it Elementum after the magic that helped them overthrow the Tyrant._

Adara remembered them, the dangerous flames and how they felt as they burnt her flesh, distorting her face into the ugliness she bore to the world.

_Divided by political ideologies, each took their heroic prize of land and established their own forms of government. The Star Island of the Western Ocean, where Celestella had built her palace, Pluvia, was taken by Asteria and Hesperus as their kingdom of Aqua._

Mocking her while she screamed and writhed, as the pain paralyzed her body.

_Oliver took the Northern Forests of the Mainland as Lignum, and Zayna made the Southern Desert into the country of Metallum._

How no one helped her until it was too late.

_Lorelei established Terra-_

"Would you please put that out?" Adara screamed, causing her handmaiden to jump.

"Yes, of course, Milady," the handmaiden curtsied.

"Oh, don't listen to her," came a drawling voice as a tall young man strode into the room, "she just can't take the heat."

He was strong, confident, and marginally handsome; her brother Jamal was everything Adara was not and never would be.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Jamal snatched the book from his sister's grasp and crossed over to the fireplace, where he knew she wouldn't go. "_The History of the Lands by Cornelius Lemmingwood_. A history book by a Lignumi? I will never understand why you bother with these things, Fireface."

Adara winced at her brother's cruel name for her, "Please give it back."

"Oh, come on, didn't you learn your lesson, Fireface?" Jamal held out the book dangerously over the fire, "This is where your books belong."

"No! Jamal, please!" Adara screamed.

"Well why don't you come get it?" Jamal laughed inching a finger off the book, making his grasp even more perilous, "Oh right, you're afraid of fire, aren't you?"

"Jamal, please," Adara whimpered, a tear collecting in her good eye. Though the fire had not blinded Adara, her left eye had a bit clearer vision than the injured right eye which she had closed at the time of her accident.

Jamal smirked, "No, Fireface, I think I'll just-"

"JAMAL!"

Jamal almost dropped the book, and certainly not on purpose as he jumped at the bellow of his father who stormed into the room with his wife and an extremely handsome young man trailing behind him.

"Father," Jamal stuttered, "I just-"

"Give me the damn book," Kasim demanded, his hand extended out to his son. "You're lucky your sister is afraid of getting near fire, because I would forgive her if she had smacked you for that."

"Sorry, Father," Jamal handed over the book, and sent a look to the handsome young man, who was smirking at him. "Not a word, Rayhan."

"And you!" Kasim shouted at the handmaiden. "I thought I instructed you that you are not to light a fire in a room that my daughter is alone in. So are you stupid or ignorant? Because I think the reason for the order is quite obviously written out on her face."

The handmaiden cowered under the master's gaze, "I- I-"

"I should dismiss you for this," Kasim growled at the shrinking girl.

The woman who had followed in Kasim, cleared her throat.

Kasim sighed, "But it's my wife's job to dismiss wait staff, so you're safe for today. But if it happens again, youare going to be out on the street! Understood?"

"Understood," the handmaiden shakily nodded.

"Good, now get out! My family must speak privately!" Kasim ordered.

Without another word, the trembling maid scurried out of the room. As she passed him, Rayhan raised a brow, looking her over briefly, and once she exited the room, grinned at Jamal.

"Very nice," Rayhan smirked. "What's her name?"

"Israt," Jamal answered.

Rayhan nodded, "Nice. Have you-"

"Not yet," Jamal shook her head. "Though if you wanted her, you-"

"If you two would please stop discussing who gets to feel up Adara's handmaiden!" Kasim snapped. "Rayhan, your father has sent you for a reason?"

"Of course, Uncle Kasim," Rayhan smiled. "The King doesn't just send his son to his sister's house for no reason. Although it's always a pleasure to see you Aunt Tahira, especially since it gets me away from that idiot younger brother of mine. Seriously Aunt Tahira, I'll trade you Zahid for Jamal, then we can have the proud achievements of the Royal family in our Palace at Ferrum, and the disappointments hidden away here in Chalybs. I mean you already have Fireface, why not make it a set?"

"Unfortunately, I'll be keeping my son," Tahira glared at her nephew, "and you'll take care that I don't hear you calling my daughter that disgusting name again."

"Fine," Rayhan shrugged, "but even if she is the granddaughter of a King, and legally a Princess, she'll never be one of us."

"What is it you came here for?" Kasim withheld the urge to strangle the future King. "Other than mocking my daughter, of course."

"Oh right, Speaking of Princesses." Rayhan withdrew an envelope from inside his pant pocket, "We received this at the Palace yesterday."

"What is it?" Kasim asked, his voice lined with annoyance.

Rayhan smirked, "I think there should be a Your Highness in there somewhere."

"Rayhan!" Kasim snapped.

"Fine," Rayhan sighed handing over the envelope to his Uncle. "It's a letter from Terra inviting us to the Festival of Mina in Lignum. Apparently my father's advisors say that it means Lignum wants to reopen our alliance."

"What do you make of it?" Kasim handed the letter to his wife, and Tahira quickly looked it over.

"It looks honest enough," Tahira surmised. "Obviously Richard had no idea William extended the invitation, so Makeen should wait a week or so until he responds."

"My father's already made a response," Rayhan said. "He's sending me to Silvus with the goal of deciding whether or not to make an alliance."

"Wait, but what if Richard doesn't want you there?" Tahira asked.

"Then we turn around and come back," Rayhan shrugged.

"So why did you come here?" Kasim frowned. "Chalybs is west of Ferrum, and Silvus is north."

"Father is letting me bring along one companion to help me represent Metallum properly," Rayhan looked to Jamal. "And who better than my dear cousin?"

Jamal raised a brow, "Really?"

"Don't let it go to your head," Rayhan smirked. "It was either you, my annoying little brother, or Fireface, and Lignum doesn't need to know about the freaks of our family."

Tahira cleared her throat loudly and glared at the Crown Prince.

"So, Jamal," Rayhan ignored his aunt, "are you in or out?"

Adara regarded her cousin for a minute. Rayhan always struck her the wrong way, but there seemed to be something missing today, though she couldn't put her finger on quite what.

Jamal smirked at his cousin a look exchanging between them, "We ride in one hour."

Yes, Adara was positive, there was for sure something going on with the boys.

And she was going to find out what.

* * *

><p>"Aileen, tell me again, which comes first, Cayden's piano lessons, or Caye's drawing lessons?" Sarah questioned the personal attendant trailing behind her.<p>

The mildly pretty handmaiden checked the parchment in her grip, "Prince Caye's drawing lessons. But Princess Jane has her sewing lessons in ten minutes."

"Then we better pick up the pace," Sarah frowned. "Minerva is really strict about punctuality."

"Forgive me, Sarah," Aileen hesitated, "but that's at least a twenty minute walk. Couldn't we just let the Princess make her way there on her own?"

"That's a good one, Aileen," Sarah laughed coming to a stop in front of a small door. It was hidden into the wood of the wall, blending in among the ancient rings of the wood so well that you could only find it if you already knew where it was. "Now come on, there's a servant's door here that leads straight into my room. It should only take about five minutes. We'll have plenty of time."

Aileen sighed, "Of course, Your Highness."

The handmaiden followed her mistress into the passage, and judging by the cleanliness of it, Aileen surmised that the Princess used it quite often. It was nothing surprising; the Princess over the years had become well-versed with the layout of the castle, discovering numerous shortcuts and hidden passages.

The surprising thing occurred when Sarah pried open the door and the girls found the Princess' room covered from floor to ceiling in flowers of all sorts.

"Uh," Aileen looked around the room in confusion. "Did you redecorate?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Sarah's jaw hung open.

"Well, if you didn't do this, who did?" Aileen clicked the servant's door behind her.

A muffled noise came from behind Sarah's front door, and the Princess' eyes narrowed.

"I have a pretty good hunch."

The Princess stormed over to the door, and with flashing eyes, swung it open fast. Instantly a young boy, dressed in his best clothes and holding yet another bouquet of flowers, landed at her feet.

"Trevor Tigerheart!" Sarah raged at the blonde boy.

Trevor smiled up at her sheepishly, "Hello, Your Highness. May I come in?"

Sarah gave a strangled scream as she pulled up the friend of her younger sister, Lindsey.

"What are you doing leaning against my door?" Sarah demanded. "And why is my room covered in flowers?"

"Uh, Your Highness?" Aileen gently tapped the Princess on the shoulder, and gestured to the clock.

"Jane," Sarah groaned and turned to her handmaiden. "Aileen, can you please get my sister to her lesson while I deal with this?"

"Of course," Aileen helped Trevor to his feet. "Should I also send someone to collect Trevor's body?"

"And notify his sister."

"Your wish is my command," Aileen curtsied with a teasing grin at the boy.

Trevor swallowed hard as he watched the handmaiden exit, "The scary thing is that I don't know if you're joking."

Sarah put her hands on her hips and eyed the boy hard, "Care to explain the room?"

"Oh, right. Well, I'll just cut to the chase." Trevor cleared his throat and knelt down to one knee, "Sarah Swanheart, would you do me the honour of accepting my suit of courtship?"

"No."

Trevor frowned, "Oh, come on Sarah. Why not?"

"Why not? Stand up!" Sarah snapped, yanking the boy to his feet.

"Careful," Trevor smoothed down his expensive looking shirt, "this is real silk. I've been saving up for five months."

"Sorry about the shirt, but seriously?" Sarah gestured around at the flowers, "What is this?"

"Oh," Trevor reddened. "Well, I didn't know what your favorite flower was."

Sarah sighed. She gently rubbed her temples as she attempted to calm herself down. It was an easy thing to do as she had a lot of experience with Caye pulling stunts like this.

"Look," Sarah said in a gentle voice, "this is sweet, but do you really think I'm going to court you?"

"Is it the age difference? Because we're only three years apart, so it doesn't really matter."

"Okay, setting aside the fact that it does matter when the ages are sixteen and thirteen," Sarah said, "why would you think I would court you?"

"Well, you've turned down everyone else so far, so I figured I'd give it a shot," Trevor replied.

Sarah sighed deeply, "Why couldn't you have had a crush on Lindsey? She's only a month younger than you."

"Oh, no, Nathaniel's had a crush on her for years, so Lindsey's off-limits," Trevor's loyalty to his best friend shone with pride in his voice. "Come on, Sarah, I'm a Lord's son, you're a King's daughter. Let's give it a shot."

"Trevor-"

"TREVOR!"

The two Nobles barely could register what was happening as a teenaged girl blurred into the room. Furiously, the brunette girl grasped Trevor by the ear and yanked him away from the Princess.

"TREVOR TIGERHEART, I TOLD YOU _NOT _TO DO THIS!" Madeleine Swanheart scolded her little brother as a young man and two girls entered the room behind her.

The Princess recognized the group; they were sort of friends of hers. For years, Sarah had pushed away all notions of friendship among the children of the Nobility. She didn't have time for a personal life, devoting every waking hour to the care of her siblings. Most of the young adults in Silvus had backed down after Sarah's rejection, whether the offer had been for friendship, or something more, but Madeleine Swanheart didn't yield easily.

By no means were Madeleine's attempts at friendship with the princess, incessant. It basically broke down to every now and then Madeleine inviting Sarah to some activity with her close friends, Cassandra and Kayla. Truth be told, it had become somewhat of a godsend for Sarah, having be able to use it as an excuse to escape some of her more tiresome duties. Additionally, Madeleine's boyfriend, a young knight by the name of Isaac, who also was Andrew's sparring partner, had been more than happy to help edge out some of Sarah's more difficult suitors. Madeleine often joked that she had no issue with loaning out her boyfriend to her friends. It was hard sometimes to turn down the group, but it made Sarah smile to know that Madeleine was more than happy to help her with anything.

Including Madeleine's annoying younger brother, when he attempted to court the princess.

"You knew about this?" Sarah frowned at Madeleine as Trevor struggled under his sister's grasp.

"He's been planning it for six months," Kayla said.

"And we've been trying to stop him for five," Isaac explained, an exasperated look on his face. Sarah couldn't help but note the similarities to that expression and the one she wore while dealing with Caye and his antics.

"Well, thanks," Sarah half-heartedly smiled. "Isaac, do you know if Andrew got out of fencing lessons alright?"

"Delivered straight to Nestor, You Highness," Isaac reported. A small smile was breaking across his face as he glanced at Trevor, who was still struggling under Madeleine's grip.

"Good." Sarah glanced at the clock, "Well, Madeleine, if you have that all handled-"

"I do."

"Then I have to be on my way," Sarah finished.

Kayla frowned, "Oh, are you busy?"

Sarah smiled kindly, "I'm raising six kids. I'm _always _busy."

Sarah had never really thought herself a mother to Andrew. Truth be told, she had, more often than not, tried to rope him into the parental duties for their younger siblings, but Andrew had a very different idea of what their responsibilities to the young ones were.

"That's too bad," Kayla said: the redhead was the smallest, youngest, and by far, most bubbly member of the trio, "because Cassie's parents are having a dinner at their house tonight, and we wanted to know if you could to come."

Cassandra was the oldest, most realistic, responsible, and best looking of the trio. Sarah had never once heard her crack a joke, and Cassandra took her role as future politician extremely seriously. Due to this fact, plus that she was close in age to Andrew, and he had a thing for blondes, Sarah had very little doubt that Cassandra would end up married to Andrew and become Queen of Lignum when Richard passed on. It was a good thing that the potential sisters-in-law liked each other.

"It'll be a lot of fun," Cassandra kindly told Sarah. "There'll be food, music, dancing-"

"Sorry, I have to pass," Sarah replied. "Duty calls."

"What do you have to do tonight?" Madeleine asked, not noticing her brother struggling under her grasp. That ear was really going to hurt tomorrow morning.

"Well, I have to get Caye to his drawing lessons, and Cayden to his piano lessons. Avery's getting fitted for new dress clothes, Lindsey's picking out her Festival mask, Eric's close to deciding on his new horse-"

"No, no, no," Madeleine interrupted. "What are _you _doing?"

Sarah frowned, "I just told you."

"She means without your siblings," Cassandra explained.

Sarah stared at the group as if it had just been suggested that she had sprouted wings.

"_Without _my siblings?" Sarah repeated.

"Yes," Cassandra nodded. "Without them."

"There's no such thing," Sarah laughed. "You all know that I have to be responsible for them."

"Yes, but when was the last time you had a moment for yourself?" Cassandra asked.

Sarah opened her mouth.

"That wasn't a tutoring session?" Madeleine added.

Sarah closed her mouth.

"Come on, Your Highness," Cassandra insisted. "It's our job to ensure you have a little fun every now and then."

"We swans have to stick together," Madeleine recited her usual joke concerning the fact that all four girls bore the bannername of Swanheart.

This wasn't odd, as Richard and Elizabeth had announced Sarah's intended banner animal months before her birth. She wasn't clear why, but the swan had been significant to the pair. As a result, Sarah knew of at the very least, twenty-seven girls born her same year that bore the bannername of Swanheart, and thirteen commoners by the name of Swanwood. If the last census was to be believed, forty-eight percent of the females born that year (and eight percent of the boys) had the banner animal of a swan.

"Can I go?" Trevor's voice suddenly broke Sarah from her thoughts.

Madeleine looked in surprise at her brother, "Oh, sorry, I forgot I had you."

"Well my ear certainly didn't," Trevor muttered, rubbing his ear once his sister had released him.

"Yeah, well, don't think this isn't over," Madeleine shot. "You haven't even gotten close to making up for this little stunt. And you know what? Isaac?"

"Yes?" Isaac answered, watching the siblings in amusement.

"Didn't your father say his collection of armor needed to be polished?"

Trevor's eyes widened, "You mean his three hundred piece collection?"

Madeleine smirked, "That's the one."

"You wouldn't dare."

"But I would. Right, Isaac?"

Isaac too smirked.

"Right, Madeleine. Come on, Trevor," Isaac grasped Trevor's arm. "My father will be _so _happy that you volunteered."

Trevor's complaints could still be heard long after Isaac had dragged the boy out of the room.

"Anyways, Sarah, please come to the party with us," Kayla grabbed Sarah's hand, returning the girls to their former conversation. "Have a little fun and let loose. Maybe you'll meet a boy you actually _do _want to court."

Sarah rolled her eyes: Kayla had been trying to play matchmaker to the Princess for over a year.

"Maybe she's holding out for a Prince," Cassandra suggested with a sly smile. "Didn't Prince Rayhan confirm his visit this morning?"

"He did," Sarah nodded simply.

"And?" Cassandra pushed. Suddenly the trio of girls looked very interested in Sarah's answers.

"And what?" Sarah frowned.

"You mean you haven't heard the rumours?" Kayla giggled.

"What rumours?" Sarah looked helplessly at Madeleine.

"Come on," Cassandra laughed. "Crown Prince Rayhan. The Warrior Prince of Metallum. He's supposed passionate, clever, confidant, unbeatable in battle, and above all, devilishly handsome. He'd be perfect for you to court, and a very good political ally."

"I don't care," Sarah snapped. "What I was _trying _to explain to Trevor was that I don't want to court anyone."

"You mean," Kayla frowned, "no one in Lignum."

"No!" Sarah exclaimed. "No one _anywhere_!"

"Why not?" Cassandra gasped, utterly shocked by the declaration. She had a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of a Princess rejecting political ties.

Sarah winced at Cassandra's question: it was a decision she had made a long time ago. For years she had pictured her Prince Charming coming in to save the day and the two of them living happily ever after. But as she had grown up, and the pressure of raising her siblings became increasingly worse, that fairy tale had slipped out of her grasp. It had started with convincing herself that she couldn't afford it right away, and then it turned into wanting to wait for her siblings to become able to take care of themselves.

Eventually she had convinced herself that she didn't need it; she was already a mother, and she was close enough to her father to have him as a companion for life. They were friends, and closer than the usual father and daughter, though despite some disgusting, and unfortunately, persistent, rumors around the kingdom, their relationship was strictly unromantic.

Besides, the idea of a romantic and physical relationship with a man honestly scared her. To be in so vulnerable a position required an immense amount of trust and communication of innermost feelings, and she never could imagine opening herself up to someone like that. To find the words, deep in her soul to be with them forever after and always.

Not to mention, what about her siblings? Who would protect them?

Every time in the past she had ever thought about leaving her brothers and sisters, and starting a life with someone else, the image of that red haired woman with the terrible look entered Sarah's mind. It had been years since she had seen the woman at her mother's funeral, and she hadn't seen the woman since, but Sarah had never forgotten her. No, that look wasn't just a dislike of a random child, there was something more to it, and Sarah knew that whatever the woman frowned about was a sign of something dangerous yet to come.

And it was then Sarah would remember why she made the promise to be her siblings' mother.

Because she had no choice.

Didn't she?

"Look, it doesn't matter why," Sarah finally answered as something knawwed away deep inside her. What was that horrible feeling? "I don't need a man to have a happily ever after. More importantly, I don't want to share myself fully with someone for the rest of my life. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

But for the first time in years, Sarah found herself wondering if maybe that wasn't true.

Sarah frowned as she watched her companions exit the room disappointed, off to live the life she never could have.

It was then thought she realized what she felt in the pit of her stomach. It was the same thing she had always felt whenever she watched her father turn away so he could fulfil his kingly duties, or when she let the trio leave without her to do something fun, or when Sarah delivered her siblings to their next task, so they might live full, eventful, joyful lives.

Loneliness.

Everyone would leave her, and she'd stay behind in case they needed a hand. They'd find others to keep company with, and she'd be the spinster Mother Princess, who gave her life for theirs.

"_Maybe I don't want to be alone," _Sarah thought with horror, the words dare not parted from her lips.

And as she thought about the dull, empty life she had chosen for herself, a dangerous thought slowly crept upon her.

"_Maybe Prince Rayhan might not be so bad."_

* * *

><p>If there was one place that Adara felt comfortable in, it was the stables. Her horseback riding talent was the one virtue no one could deny her. Her mother often joked that Adara had been riding before walking. When Adara was on horseback, she was in control, and she was free. A horse could take her away from her life here. It could take her to a place where no one would judge her for her face, and one day she would get there, she was certain of it. And maybe, just maybe, she'd find someone who thought she was beautiful.<p>

But until that day, all she had were her stables, her one true sanctuary.

Having spent so much time in them, she knew every inch of that building, so it made spying on Jamal and Rayhan as they saddled their horses, child's play.

"So what's really going on here?" Jamal asked as he placed the saddle onto his powerful steed not noticing his sister hiding in a hay stack up in the rafters. One pretty much had to know where to look in order to see Adara in her hiding place, but she wasn't totally invisible. She would have to be very quiet.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rayhan smirked tossing the horse's blanket on the stallion's back haphazardly. It almost pained Adara to watch how bad her cousin was at saddling a horse. She felt bad for the magnificent steed, and secretly hoped that it would throw the Crown Prince one day.

"Oh come on, I know there's more to this, you just didn't want to tell my parents. So what's the deal?"

Rayhan looked around to make sure the coast was clear; he didn't even think to look up in the rafters.

"Alright," Rayhan muttered, though not low enough that Adara couldn't hear him. "Father has given me total control over the choice of whether or not to make an alliance."

"And will you?" Jamal grabbed a bridle from a hook.

Rayhan raised a brow, "That all depends on this Princess of theirs and if she's as beautiful as they say. And, did you know that she has a younger sister? I don't know her real name, but her protective name is Talia. I mean she's only thirteen right now, but give it a few years…"

Jamal smirked, "Go on."

"Well, Father has been getting sicker lately, and his physicians are starting to worry that he might not be with us much longer."

"Come on, it can't really be _that _serious."

"They say he won't see outside of two years," Rayhan shrugged, as indifferent as if he were talking about a complete stranger. "But when my father was told this, he began to worry about succession. As it stands, the Crown falls to me first, being of legal age, but should something happen to me, the Crown falls to Zahid, being kept by my mother until my brother turns twenty-one."

"Stars help us if Zahid were ever king." Jamal rolled his eyes.

Holding very still in her pile of hay, Adara couldn't help the smile that crept across her face. Zahid was Rayhan's younger brother and the only person who could ever look upon Adara's face with unconditional kindness. Although it was Jamal who tormented his sister, Adara's parents were known to recoil from their daughter's scarred face. All the kindness and fairness that the Stars seemed to have kept from Jamal and Rayhan must have been saved for the younger Prince. Adara couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, Zahid as King wouldn't be so bad.

"I don't understand," Jamal's voice brought Adara back into reality: the cold hard reality where Rayhan would one day be king. "I'm also twenty-one, wouldn't I be eligible as your heir before Zahid?"

"Only if Zahid gives reason to be removed from succession," Rayhan's voice was filled with bitterness. "The only way I could prevent Zahid from succeeding me is if I were to marry and provide an heir."

The low grunts of the horses in the stable were the only thing that broke the silence that clung to the air as the puzzle pieces clicked painfully in Adara's head.

"We're not just going to make a normal alliance, are we?" Adara could almost hear Jamal's dangerous smirk.

"Father wants me to see if they might want to entertain a marriage treaty," Rayhan grinned. "After all, they do say Princess Odette is the most beautiful woman in Lignum, maybe I'll even get to find out her real name. As for the sister, Talia, she is said to look like her mother."

"Like Queen Elizabeth?" Jamal frowned, "I don't know… Elizabeth wasn't the most desirable of women."

"If the younger Princess isn't attractive enough, it's not a total loss. After all, it's just a wife, that doesn't mean she'll be the only woman you'll have."

"Fair enough." Jamal paused, raising an eyebrow knowingly, "But there's more, isn't there?"

Rayhan stilled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Rayhan, I know that look. You're hiding something."

The Crown Prince looked around suspiciously and Adara put everything she had into holding still.

"You cannot tell a soul," Rayhan whispered pulling Jamal's arm, so that his cousin was closer to him.

Adara had never been more aware of the loudness of her breathing.

"I've never let you down before," Jamal pointed out.

"Alright," Rayhan looked around once more and Adara had to strain herself to hear her cousin. "The only people who know this is myself, my mother, my father, and my brother, but upon our return to Ferrum from Lignum, Father is going to transfer all powers of acting king to me."

Jamal's eyes widened, "You're going to be crowned king?"

"Not exactly," Rayhan scowled. "The only thing that can end my father's reign is death itself, but I will basically be king in all but name."

"So what's the big deal? Your face says more than imminent kingship."

"Father has allowed me to make any alliance I wish."

"_And?_"

"Well… Rumor has it that Maeveen is in Lignum."

Jamal raised a brow, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Jamal, tell me this," Rayhan wrapped an arm around his cousin's shoulder. "Which is a stronger alliance? One with a bunch of weakling Timbers? Or with one of the most powerful Stars in the world? I can make _any _alliance I wish."

Adara's eyes widened. Rayhan was an ass to begin with, but betraying Metallum to the greatest danger Elementum had? Even he wouldn't cross that line.

Jamal too seemed frozen with disbelief, "You don't mean-"

"The only thing that interests me from Lignum is a beautiful wife," Rayhan smiled darkly. "If they can't offer me that, then we'll see what Maeveen has to give."

"Wait," Jamal frowned. "You want to marry Maeveen?"

Rayhan gave his cousin a look of disgust, "Don't be an idiot. Of course not. Just an alliance."

"But why would Maeveen ever even speak to us?"

"Because," Rayhan grinned, "we're about to find out exactly how many guards Silvus has, their weapons count, as well as what their defences _and _weak spots are. Something tells me that Maeveen is _very _interested in that."

Adara silently gasped. Unfortunately, the only similarity she had with her cousin was that, like her mother and his father, the cousins had eidetic memories: the ability to remember everything they had ever seen.

"So who knows about this?" Jamal smiled, finally understanding the plan.

"Just you and me. And that's how it's going to stay."

"But what if someone finds out?"

"Then we protect our plans," Rayhan shrugged, as if stating the obvious. "We kill them."

Adara's breaths halted.

She should have stayed in the house.


	6. Wrong Impressions

Chapter Five

Wrong Impressions

* * *

><p>Sarah frowned at her reflection in the mirror; something looked wrong but she couldn't put her finger on what.<p>

Truth be told, it could honestly mean that she had finally snapped. For the past week she had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Crown Prince of Metallum. Cassandra's words had repeated in her head so often that the naïve imaginings of Sarah's sixteen year old mind had already conjured up something that she had become completely infatuated with. The anticipation had built so strong that when they would meet later that day, everything had to be perfect.

It was something a long time coming; for years, Sarah had forced herself to take on the more mature role of mother to her siblings, and basically Queen to her father. Richard had greatly struggled with taking care of a large family and even larger kingdom (it _was_ the largest kingdom in Elementum after all). Childhood had been a luxury Sarah could not afford, but it was not something she begrudged, she had been the one who chose the sacrifice.

Still, there was something small and secret she kept in her heart. Stories of great adventure and romance were entries in her world's history books, and her own parents had centered one of those stories. Every night since her mother's passing, she had read these stories to her younger siblings, and secretly she yearned for a chapter of her own.

A Princess of Lignum was almost expected to become a part of one of those tales, especially since she had no throne promised to her. That didn't mean she wanted to be locked away in a tower, waiting for some Prince Charming to rescue her. Sarah truly detested the idea of not being in control of her own fate. No, if she were in a fairy tale, it would be one like Queen Asteria's, the central hero, fighting for her own happy ending with her Prince as her partner, showing the world the strength of true love.

So now, with the historic moment of the kingdoms of Metallum and Lignum coming back together, setting quickly upon them, it seemed that Sarah had finally gotten her chance at her own Once Upon a Time.

And she would make Rayhan be her Happily Ever After.

But only if she impressed him.

For the past three hours she had struggled with her appearance. Perfection was hard to achieve when she knew nothing about his tastes. She was lucky that Aileen had discovered that Metallite women would style their hair half up, while leaving the rest naturally long. Sarah had Aileen style her long wavy golden locks in a relaxed fashion while a braided crown roll lined around the back of her head where her simple bronze tiara would sit on top.

Sarah had only heard mentions of the complicated and exotic clothing of the Metallites, and she had no idea how the unrestricting elegant gowns of Lignum would measure up. She only hoped that the dress she and Aileen had chosen would be suitable. It was a bright emerald number that faded into a forest green shade on either side of the a-line skirt. The neckline was of a sweetheart shape, though modesty was kept by the customary long sleeves that all Lignumi wore.

Unlike every other country in Elementum, the Lignumi people firmly believed that a woman should not show her bare arms in public. It was a tradition that led back to King Oliver's daughter, who had covered up in order to hide her arms which had been scarred by a childhood pox. Although it was a silly tradition, honouring the heroes of the past was one of the most important things in Lignum, and as a Princess, Sarah had to lead the people by her example.

Not wearing makeup was another one of those honouring traditions. Makeup was an unnecessary luxury, and particularly frowned upon in Lignum where natural beauty was valued above all. By not wearing makeup, Lignumi women honoured their two strongest alliances, those with the Aquanians and the Terrans. In Aqua, it simply was unneeded as Stars were able to change anything about their appearance, and could even assume the form of any person, or even creature that they wished. As for Terrans, they were generally a proud set of people, more interested in working the earth and building their strength than painting on what the world alleged were desirable looks; so makeup was simply not used in Terra. And since Sarah's own mother had been a Radix, someone with both Lignumi and Terran grandparents, if Sarah publically wore any form of makeup, it would likely cause an international scandal.

Besides, her father always did say her expressive blue eyes were her best feature, so why would she want to cover them in powders and liquids?

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she realised that this was going to be as good as it was going to get. She grabbed her swan pendant necklace from the vanity table to her left, and sighed. Though she was excited, Sarah was very nervous, the upcoming festival frightened her, being that it was the first time she was to attend it as a serious potential marriage partner.

It was not the first time she had been in the main part of the festival, The Dance of Mina. She had entered the dance ever since she turned thirteen, the age of eligibility. Generally, no one took the younger partners of the dance very seriously in Lignum, knowing it was mostly about the fun. So Sarah felt safe that when her younger sister, Lindsey, would perform for the first time this year, that there would be no trouble.

Sarah's performance was another story.

Ever since she had started her first course in late December of the previous year, Sarah had been dreading the matchmaking dance. In addition to the fact that the legal age of marriage in Lignum was sixteen, by starting her cycle, it was a signal to all of Lignum that their dear Princess had become physically eligible for marriage. Richard did his best to keep the suitors at bay while his daughter was still so young, but he would not be able to do so forever, and the Dance of Mina was the perfect excuse for a suitor to be alone with the Princess.

"_But maybe it won't be so bad if said suitor was a certain Metallite Prince,"_ Sarah thought with a blush.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat from the doorway of Sarah's room and Sarah glanced back to see who had interrupted her.

"Hello, Father," Sarah greeted with a smile. "Come in."

"Father?" The King entered his daughter's room with a frown. Richard swept the unruly brown locks out of his twinkling green eyes, "You know I miss the days you called me Daddy. You're growing up too fast, My Sweet Sarah."

For a moment, the air stilled, and something almost mournful passed over Sarah's blue eyes.

"I've always had to grow up fast," Sarah replied, something ghostly echoing in her voice.

"Yes, you have," Richard slowly nodded taking in the beautiful, yet still developing, form of his daughter. Sometimes he forgot how young and innocent she still was. "Another year or so, and I'll have to fortify the castle to bat off your suitors. I heard what happened with Lady Madeleine's brother."

Sarah blushed, "Father-"

"What I don't get is how you look exactly like me, with the exception of your mother's colouring, and yet you look so beautiful."

Sarah smirked, "Maybe it's because you don't look too bad yourself, Father."

A darkness entered Richard's eyes, "Don't let me catch you saying things like that in public. It'll only fuel those disgusting rumors about us."

"I'm sorry," Sarah hung her head.

"No, it's not your fault," Richard sighed. "I don't get people; I'd never replace my Queen, let alone with my daughter. It's scary that people even believe that."

"It's a scary world out there," Sarah shrugged.

Richard chuckled, "More than you know. Anyways, I came to see how you were doing. Are you ready? Prince Rayhan should be here soon."

"All ready to receive him," Sarah checked her appearance one last time in the mirror. "Have you heard from Ignis yet?"

"Got a letter from Calor this morning. I'll be leaving in a month to sign a treaty with them at Arva. Will's signing as a neutral witness for us."

"So you finalized all the negotiations?"

"Oh, Stars no!" Richard laughed. "We still have a while to go. I'll probably be in Terra for a week or two, negotiating with Ignis, but we've gotten to a point where we've agreed to _make _a treaty."

"Eric still has no idea that he's to be collateral?"

"None whatsoever."

Sarah smiled to herself; she couldn't wait to see the look on her little brother's face when he found out that part of the treaty would involve Eric living at the palace of Calor for a year. To be honest, Sarah was fairly certain that Eric would actually be thrilled. Although it meant leaving Lindsey, his best friend, it would also mean for one whole blessed year, he would be rid of Andrew and Caye, the two biggest thorns in his side.

"You know this negotiation has been one of the easiest I've ever been through. Prince Christian is a very agreeable person." Richard smirked at his daughter, "Are you _sure _you don't want to come to Arva with me?"

"You mean so I can have some Spark trying to court me?" Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Richard snapped, a sudden fury flashing over him. "Don't you _ever _use that term again, do you understand me? Public figure or not, don't you _ever _use a derogatory for anyone, regardless of their birth country. You wouldn't want Prince Christian calling you a Timber, would you?"

"No," Sarah sighed, lowering her eyes in shame.

"Good," Richard exhaled deeply, letting his anger subside. "Now I was talking to Will, and he told me that his nephew will be returning to Arva soon. He'll be joining the Palace Guard, like his father did. You remember Patrick? I think you'd like him."

"Patrick Lordstone?" Sarah burst out laughing, "Are you kidding? First you suggest an Ignisian Prince, and now the boy who used to push Andrew in the mud and pull my hair? You'd never make it as a professional matchmaker, Father."

"Oh come on, he was eight years old, I think he's grown up a little bit since then."

"Wanna bet?"

Richard frowned, "Didn't I teach you not to judge someone before you met them?"

"Yes, Father," Sarah sighed. "Although, in all fairness, I _have _met Patrick."

"Fine," Richard crossed his arms. "But if you're not interested in Patrick or Christian, is there anyone you _are _interested in?"

Sarah blushed and looked away.

Richard's eyes widened, "Wait, _Rayhan_?"

Sarah meekly nodded.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Richard exclaimed.

Sarah's head snapped up, a scowl crossing her face, "What happened to not judging someone before you met them?"

"But he's a Scr-"

Richard stopped himself. Most of the derogatory terms for the different countries were merely comical: Timber for Lignum, Pebble for Terra and even Raindrop for Aqua. But the term for a Metallite was something truly rude with extremely negative implications. To call an Ignisian a Spark was insulting, but manageable, but to call a Metallite a Scrap was truly crossing the line. Not only was it insulting, but it implied uselessness and that the person was unwanted.

Sarah just stared at her father in disbelief and Richard sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry," Richard's voice was rather quiet. "It's just, the things I've heard about King Makeen aren't the most positive things in the world. I'm just worried that it might be true, and if so, what his son might be like."

"Father," Sarah smiled, "I'm sure Prince Rayhan is just fine, you're probably just worrying."

Richard smirked, "Would you put money on it?"

"How about twenty Denarii?"

"It's a deal," Richard shook his daughter's hand. "But I still get to be weirded out that my sixteen year old daughter has a crush on a twenty-one year old."

"Deal," Sarah rolled her eyes, a blush creeping up on her face, "but trust me, Father, younger girls have had far worse."

"I know; with my luck, I'm going to end up with a son-in-law ten years older than one of you girls," Richard laughed, and threw an arm around his daughter's waist. "Come on, let's go find out if you're taking my money."

* * *

><p>"Now one of the most important parts of taking care of a horse is cleaning the tack," Marshall instructed Cayden, keeping a tight grip on the reins of Richard's horse as it stood in its stall, lazily munching at a ball of hay. "Otherwise it builds up sweat and dirt which can crack or even break the leather. Trust me you don't want to be in the middle of riding your horse when the tack breaks."<p>

"Noted," Cayden smiled at the Head Stableman, eyes flicking back to the horse.

Marshall Stablewood was Cayden's personal favorite out of the gang of Dwarves his mother had once been a part of. After Elizabeth had married Richard, all of the charges that Maeveen had falsely laid upon the gang of outlaws, were dismissed and they had soon found various employments around Lignum. They were mostly high ranking positions, thanks to their friendship with the Queen, but some, like Sarah's favorite, Henry, had settled down into a simple life. But no matter where the seven men had ended up, they always came back together, honoring the strong bond they had with their "brothers" and especially to protect the children of the Dwarves' "little sister", Elizabeth, after her tragic passing.

But Elizabeth wasn't the only one of the Dwarves to marry and have a child; Marshall's handsome dark looks had attracted the affections of a young woman by the name of Ariadne who had unfortunately passed a few years after the birth of their daughter, Daphne. Marshall was fiercely protective of his daughter and loved her dearly, but he did admit that there was a small part of him that wished he had had a son of his own. So, a few years back, when Cayden had approached him with an interest in horses, Marshall had instantly decided to take the young Prince under his wing.

"So how's that?" Cayden offered Marshall the bridle he had been given to clean.

"Not bad," Marshall smiled, looking it over. He clapped the Prince lightly on the back, "We'll make a horseman out of you yet."

"Prince Cayden!" a familiar voice called. "There you are!"

Marshall smirked down at the young Prince as they watched Elton struggle through the busy stable, attempting to make his way to Cayden. It was an amusing sight, the prim and proper Knight, mucking up his regal outfit in the water and mud as he was jostled through the busy stablehands moving every which way around the stable.

Though not quite the youngest of the Dwarves, many people had been surprised to discover that a group of men who had largely been nearing the end of their second decade, had elected the young Elton to be their leader. The reason soon became apparent as Elton was the best strategist and a cunning warrior. He perfected none of the other men's specialities, but was skilled enough in all of them to know how to use them to his best advantage. That, added with his magnetic charm, unwavering loyalty, and faith in others' abilities made Elton into the gang's strong leader, and later Richard's right hand man.

Also, he was the only one of the Dwarves who knew how to cook when they first went into hiding, so that gave Elton an edge over the others.

Yet, despite all of his strengths, it was still an amusing sight when Elton encroached upon another Dwarf's speciality as the handsome young man had the tendency to look quite out of place, especially now in this busy stable scene.

"Cayden," Elton awkwardly pushed pass a stable hand. "Prince Cayden, please, we must get you ready."

"But I am ready," Cayden replied as the Captain of the Guard finally came to a stop.

"Really?" Elton frowned, looking over the young Prince. Cayden wasn't exactly wearing his best clothes. His shoes and pant legs had, what Elton only hoped, was mud splattered on them, and there was a piece of hay stuck in the Prince's hair. "I supposed it's not as bad as that time Caye was presented to King Hesperus, covered head to toe in mud. But still…"

"Leave him alone, Elton," Marshall laughed, shutting the stable door of Richard's horse, and hanging up the bridle. "Honestly, you're fretting worse than Dermont did when we snuck into the Festival of Mina with Lizzie back in '26."

"In all fairness, we _did_ end up getting caught," Elton shot back. "Now, please Cayden, can't you at least change your shoes or something? The Princes of Metallum will be here any moment. What will they think if you're covered in mud?"

"They'll think he's a twelve year old boy whose natural state _is _being covered in mud?" Marshall smirked.

"Marshall…" Elton warned.

"Alright," Marshall chuckled, ruffling Cayden's hair. "Go on ahead with Elton, I'll finish up here."

"Do I have to?" Cayden whined sounding not very much like a Prince.

"Go," Marshall nudged him toward Elton. "I'll show you how to shoe a horse tomorrow."

Cayden frowned, "That doesn't sound like fun."

Marshall smirked, "It is when I tell you the story about how Elton got kicked in the face when I taught him."

"It's not funny! I almost died!" Elton's face flushed red as his annoyance struggled over the loudness of Cayden's laughter.

"I guess I could tell him a different story," Marshall chuckled. "How about the time where you and that skunk-"

"We are leaving," Elton grabbed Cayden by the arm, as the Prince almost doubled over in laughter. "_Now_."

* * *

><p>"Is everyone ready?" Richard nervously asked, coming down the Palace steps as servants and Nobles scrambled around the courtyard, getting ready for the Princes of Metallum to arrive.<p>

"Elton's getting Cayden ready, a few servants are helping Jane and Avery, and as usual, no one knows where Caye is," William replied as he and Richard's four eldest attempted to help their father.

"Alright. Lindsey and Eric, you go with Will," Richard ordered the two younger children. "Andrew, Sarah, and I will see if we can help the others."

"Of course," William nodded. "Come on you two."

"But Dad," Andrew frowned as his father led himself, and Sarah back down the entrance hall of the Palace, "I thought King William said they were all being handled."

"We're not going to help your siblings," Richard muttered, looking around carefully before leading his children behind a large tree truck that stylistically was meant to resemble a pillar.

"Dad?" Andrew frowned at tree, watching his sister obediently follow their father behind it. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Keep your voice down, and get behind the tree," Richard's voice was low, but there was no mistaking that Andrew had no choice in the matter. "Sarah, is there anyone here?"

"Only you, me, and the bonehead," Sarah yanked her brother behind the tree causing Andrew to release a very undignified yelp.

"Sarah, don't!" Andrew frowned at his sister, rubbing down the sleeve Sarah had grabbed him by. "This is new silk."

In that moment, Andrew had sounded not unlike Trevor.

"What's going on, Father?" The Princess rolled her eyes, sometimes she feared for Lignum's future with Andrew as King.

"Look, I know this isn't the best time to talk about this," Richard started, "but I needed to do so before we met with the Princes, and I haven't had the chance until now."

Sarah frowned, "Why didn't you tell me this when we were alone earlier?"

"Because you need to hear it with your brother," Richard quickly answered. "Now, listen, what I am going to say to you, stays between the three of us. You don't tell the Princes of Metallum, you don't tell your brothers or sisters, and you don't tell William. Do you understand me?"

"We do," Andrew answered, and Sarah nodded.

"Now, I know that I told you and your siblings that we're attempting to mend the bonds between the countries in the spirit of the Festival, but that's not entirely truthful. There are other reasons." Stress lined Richard's face as he nervously rubbed it, "Look, you might not quite understand everything about the situation and why certain things are happening, but I'm worried about my children, and I think that the two of you are old enough to know the truth. I'm not attempting these alliances out of the kindness of my heart, and I certainly trust neither the Ignisians, nor the Metallites, but I am doing it as a precaution."

"A precaution for what, Dad?" Andrew glanced at his equally confused sister.

"Maeveen has been spotted in Succendens," Richard said.

"What?" Sarah gasped.

"When?" Andrew's eyes were wide.

"About two months ago," The King admitted. "We had to check out the claim, but it's certain that Maeveen has joined the Fallen Star Ormr, and they're hiding in the South-East of our kingdom."

"What are you going to do about it?" Andrew asked, his voice eager for adventure. "Are you going to send an army? Is it time I get my own regiment? Or are you going to get Alvar to train me? Or maybe Lothar-"

"Slow down, Andrew," Richard put up his hands to halt his son. "Alvar's staying with his troop in Ramus, Lothar with his in Pinus, nor is any other one of the Dwarves coming here, and no one's getting any regiments. We're not engaging Maeveen in any battles."

"Why not?" Andrew whined.

"Because we would lose… _Badly_," Richard added. "Look, you're young, you don't know what Maeveen is like. If it was only Ormr we were worried about, we'd be fine, but Maeveen… She very dangerous, and there's only so many times she can fail before she finally finds her way into a crown."

"She doesn't sound that dangerous," Andrew rolled his eyes.

Richard gave his son a very unimpressed look, "This is the woman that poisoned both of your grandmothers, attempted to assassinate your mother several times, suffocated one of your grandfathers, and the slit the throat of your final grandfather, in front of the entire kingdom. And if that isn't enough to convince you, need I remind you about what happened to Rose Redearth? I wouldn't be surprised if Patrick's scarred to this day."

Sarah bit her lip and carefully looked down, "Why are you telling us about this?"

"Because Maeveen's spent over seven centuries trying to kill Queen Asteria, and now she's got a bone to pick with me," Richard explained. "What happened with your mother, and how we defeated her, with both Elizabeth and Dunstan gone, I'm the only person left for her to get her revenge on. You need to know because I'm worried that she may go after me, and if she does, Lignum needs to be protected. Andrew, you are the Future King, and Sarah, you could easily share the burden of a crown. If something happens, the two of you need to work together to do whatever you can to protect this kingdom, as well as this family."

"Father, you know I would do anything to protect this family," Sarah smiled.

"And I'd give my life to protect Lignum," Andrew added. "If anything happens, we'd take care of everything just fine."

"If only that were true," Richard gave a humourless laugh. "Just remember, no matter what happens, no matter how hard the path, a Lignumi will always find a way."

"We promise," Andrew nodded.

"King Richard!" Elton's voice suddenly cut through the hall.

Reluctantly, Richard leaned out from behind the tree, "Yes?"

"I've got the boys," Elton strode down the hall, with a cleaned up Cayden following behind. He didn't even look surprised at the sudden appearance of the King from behind a tree.

"Boy_s_?" Richard questioned taking in the sight of the single boy Elton had. "Where's Caye?"

Elton had an uneasy smile, "Well the good news is I found him."

"And the bad news?" Sarah asked as she and Andrew walked out from behind the tree pillar.

"The bad news is that he looks like this," Elton gestured behind himself.

Caye walked into the hall completely covered in mud.

"Hi, Dad!" Caye waved, smiling brightly as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the situation.

"I'm not even going to ask," was all Richard could say.

"That's probably best," Elton replied.

"Don't worry, Father, I'll take care of it," Sarah offered. "After all, we don't want another Hesperus situation."

"Hey, he thought it was funny!" Caye objected.

"But Asteria didn't," Andrew shot.

"We're getting you cleaned up, and that's final," Sarah crossed her arms at her younger brother.

"You're a life saver, Sweetheart," Richard threw an arm around his daughter's shoulder and squeezed her tight for a hug. He placed a kiss on her forehead, "Don't take too long."

"Of course, Father," Sarah smiled sweetly at her father. She then went into full mother mode and crossed over to Caye and grasped his arm, "Come with me right now!"

Richard smiled as he watched his daughter pull the younger twin down the hall, the Prince's muffled objections carrying away further and further.

"She's so much like her mother," Elton smiled as he watched the Princess disappear with her brother.

"She is," Richard nodded. "I have no idea what we would do without her."

It was at that moment that a faint fanfare rang down the hall.

"Metallum must be here," Elton said.

"Well," Richard sighed, glancing at Cayden and Andrew, "I guess it's show time."


	7. Through the Eyes of Another

A/N: Alright, before we start I do have something I have to tell you. As of this chapter we have officially caught up to everything that has already been written. That means that updates aren't going to be on a weekly basis anymore, and I'll probably be re-uploading chapters having gone back and making changes. I can't even give you a rough estimate as to when this next chapter will be posted as it has been quite the problem child of mine having had to retool and rewrite everything several times, literally working on it for the last six months as I've hit a major writer's block for that chapter alone. I think I have finally cracked it though, having looked back over my outline and finally cut it down and understood exactly what needs to happen. I'd like to thank you in advance for your patience and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

Through the Eyes of Another

* * *

><p>Nathaniel was a young servant who could confidently call himself Princess Lindsey's best friend, so it was no surprise that the Princes of Lignum didn't like him. The entire Royal Family of Lignum was very close and anyone else who tried to break into the circle of siblings was dealt with harsh vigor. To be honest, he didn't even find their natural protectiveness to be rude.<p>

What he _did_ find very rude, was when Eric roughly shoved him aside, telling him to get away from his sister and stand with the servants, as they readied for the arrival of the Princes of Metallum. It was hard for Nathaniel to bite back any objection, but fighting with the third-in-line to his country's throne, probably wasn't a good idea in front of important visitors. So he just muttered a few choice words under the breath about the Prince, as he joined Marshall who stood next to his daughter, Daphne.

"Don't let him bug you," Marshall whispered to the boy as Nathaniel watched the Royal Family arrange themselves and the Princes of Metallum drew closer to the Palace. Technically, since Nathaniel was a very low ranking stable hand, he shouldn't have even been with the party to greet the Princes of Metallum, but being friends with a Princess had its perks and he and Marshall had been selected to tend to the Princes' horses.

"I just don't get why he picks on me so much," Nathaniel's green eyes narrowed at the brunette Prince.

"It's a brother thing," Marshall replied. "It's only natural he treat anyone with an interest in his sister, as a threat."

"I don't have interest in Lindsey," Nathaniel blushed.

"Sure you don't," Daphne laughed, "just like Prince Avery doesn't follow me around like a puppy. Face it, either of us could have a royal with a snap of our fingers."

"Hey, hey, hey," Marshall shot his daughter a jokingly serious look. "You know the rules, no dating until you're married."

"Daddy!" Daphne playfully rolled her eyes.

"Alright," Marshall chuckled. "But at least wait until you're sixteen, and try to stay away from anyone too young."

"Come on Daddy," Daphne became serious, "Avery's just a kid, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, I like older boys."

"Like that doesn't send up even more red flags," Marshall muttered.

Nathaniel shook his head and glanced toward the gate.

"They're here!"

Nathaniel's announcement shot through the courtyard, and in the blink of an eye, every single person was standing in perfect formation, waiting to greet the incoming Royals. In fact, the only imperfection were two noticeable spaces in the line of Royal Siblings.

"Where's Sarah and Caye?" Daphne frowned.

"You mean Odette and Bernard?" Marshall corrected. "Remember, as long as the Princes are here, with the exception of Andrew, you cannot call Richard's children by their real names."

"Right," Nathaniel nodded, recalling the law that protected the younger Royal's identities.

The trumpets sounded and in rode two young men on large black steeds. As they halted by yanking hard on their horses' reins, and kicking them sharply in the sides, and then dismounted their horses inelegantly, it was clear to the group of stablehands that neither Prince were very good horsemen.

When the men's feet were firmly planted on the ground, Richard signalled to the stablehands.

"That's our cue," Marshall whispered to Nathaniel. "I'll take the Crown Prince's horse, and you take the other's."

"Which one is the Crown Prince?" Nathaniel looked wildly between the two Princes.

Their horses were almost identical, as were the swords on their hips and their clothing, which was coloured scarlet and pearl, the Royal Colours of Metallum. They were both bareheaded, so there was no crown to signal a difference, and neither looked particularly older than the other.

"The Crown Prince is supposed to be rather handsome, so I doubt he would bring a companion that looked better than him," Marshall mused, though he too was equally lost as to which was which. Finally he decided that the one to the right had a large nose, with nostrils slit like snake's, and a flatter, less attractive, face. "I'll take the one with the longer hair, you take the one with the close trim and the nasty smile."

Daphne glanced at the man with the short cropped hair, and had to hold back a snicker; he was sneering like he had smelled something horrible with his beak-like nose.

All Nathaniel could notice was that the man was taking special notice of Lindsey, his copper eyes narrowing in on the little Princess.

"May we take your horses, Your Highnesses?" Marshall practically had to drag Nathaniel to the Princes. Nathaniel wanted to be nowhere near the creep ogling Lindsey.

"I suppose if you're the best the King can offer us," the Prince with longer hair raised an unimpressed brow as he overlooked the stablehands. His grey eyes had been sharply going over the line of Royal Children, as if looking for something special. "Just take the best possible care of them."

"Can't do any worse than you seem to be doing," Nathaniel muttered and instantly he felt a strong arm lock around his chest like a vice.

"Kids," Marshall smiled weakly as he held Nathaniel to his chest in a death-grip, praying that the Princes didn't hear the younger boy's comment.

"Indeed," the Prince with shorter hair looked over the boy as Marshall released Nathaniel.

The Prince offered Nathaniel the reins to his horse, and Marshall smiled, satisfied that the situation was okay. Marshall turned his back to the two, and he took the reins of horse belonging to the Prince with longer hair, who went back to looking around for something.

Just as Nathaniel was about to clasp the reins of the short haired Prince's horse, the Prince suddenly grabbed Nathaniel's arm and pulled him in tightly to his body, right behind his horse, using it to block anyone from seeing what was happening.

The Prince's grip crushed down on Nathaniel's arm, locking around him like a boa constrictor; the more Nathaniel struggled, the tighter it got. The stable boy could feel the stress on the fragile bone of his forearm as the Prince leaned in close.

"Make any more smart comments like that, and you'll wake up with no tongue tomorrow," the Prince's voice tickled as he hissed in Nathaniel's ear. "Do you understand me?"

"Understood," Nathaniel nodded, scared to look up at the snakelike Prince.

"Now, take the damn horse," The Prince released the boy and threw the reins at him, and began to walk back around to the front of the horse.

Nathaniel was just able to catch the reins before the horse decided it wanted to bolt. Through his fear, Nathaniel couldn't help but find something ironic about the Prince's creepy mannerism, and the fact that Metallum's Royal Animal was a snake.

"Oh, and boy?" the Prince suddenly called.

Nathaniel turned very white; he didn't want to talk to the Prince anymore, but he couldn't show anyone that something was wrong. Who knew what the Prince might do to him if Nathaniel tipped off the Royal Family?

Taking a deep breath, Nathaniel tried to hold the fear out of his eyes.

"Y- Yes, Your Highness?" Nathaniel replied with a shaking voice.

The Prince smirked at the boy, "If you mess with my horse, I'll break your arm."

And with that the Prince sauntered back around the horse, joining with his cousin just as William and Richard approached the two guests.

"Your Majesties," the short haired Prince bowed to the Kings, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Welcome, Your Highnesses," Richard greeted.

"It's a pleasure to be here," the longer haired Prince smiled. "My name is Rayhan, and this is my cousin, Prince Jamal."

"Are you alright?" Marshall whispered, startling Nathaniel as he rubbed his sore arm.

"I'm fine," Nathaniel lied, glancing carefully at Jamal. "Can we just deal with the horses?"

"One second." Marshall looked up at Richard and the King nodded. "Alright we can go."

The two stablehands slowly left the group, not even taking in the exchange between the Metallite Princes and the two Kings. As they passed Daphne, Marshall placed a hand on her shoulder, and stopped. The daughter looked at him expectantly, but Marshall said nothing, just looking to Elton, who stood next to Andrew at the head of the line of Royal Children.

Sensing the horseman's stare, Elton's eyes turned on his honorary brother with a question in his eyes. Marshall still said nothing, but he glanced at Jamal, the Prince who had attacked Nathaniel, and it was clear that once more, the Prince's copper gaze was locked on Lindsey.

Elton nodded, and quietly moved behind Lindsey, he too saying nothing, but staring Jamal down the best he could.

"Forgive me, King Richard," Prince Rayhan's voice tuned into Marshall's mind, "but I thought you were supposed to have three daughters. I only count two."

"Yes, well…" The awkwardness of the situation was written across Richard's face. "My son Bernard had a little incident with what I only pray was a mud puddle. My eldest daughter offered to clean him up before your introduction."

"Sounds like a job for his mother," Jamal snorted.

Rayhan shot his cousin a look, as Richard sent William an annoyed glance.

"Yes, well, my wife passed away eleven years ago, so Odette has basically been their mother since," Richard explained with an edge to his voice. "I had been under the impression that King William had informed you of the matter."

"Their mother?" Rayhan looked surprised, as he ignored the rest of Richard's words. "Exactly how old is she?"

"Sixteen," Richard's answer was short, clearly he wanted the conversation to be over.

Rayhan glanced over at his cousin, and smiled.

"Perfect," said the long haired Prince.

Richard's own expression was less than kind.

"Perhaps we should introduce you to the rest," William suggested, turning toward the other children. "They typically arrange themselves in birth order."

William then proceeded to rattle off each of the Royal Children's ages and false names, and as the King continued to add more children to the list, the Metallites looked quite impressed.

"That's a lot of children," Rayhan laughed. "You'd make any Metallite proud."

"And your parents?" Richard inquired. "Do they too, have lots children?"

"Sadly, only two a piece," Rayhan replied. "I have a younger brother, and Jamal has a younger sister, though it's probably better not to talk about those two freaks."

Oddly, only Jamal and Rayhan laughed at that comment.

"We're going," Marshall whispered to Daphne, his hand still clasped on her shoulder. "Now."

Daphne said nothing, but she nodded and quietly followed Nathaniel and her father.

The small party had only made it a few feet from the courtyard when they heard a familiar voice ring out.

"Oh no! They've already arrived?"

Marshall sighed as he watched the figures rush towards them, "Unfortunately, Sarah."

Sarah and a now clean, yet clearly not happy about it, Caye quickly made their way to the group.

"I hope we're not too late," Sarah nervously looked toward the courtyard.

Her heart pounded wildly, thudding painfully in her ears. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, she was supposed to be there. It was the start of her fairy tale, and now she had missed it. What if she had lost her chance to impress Rayhan?

"I can't be late," Sarah whispered fearfully.

"It's no misfortune if you are," Nathaniel grumbled, rubbing his still sore arm.

"What are they like? Are they nice? Is Rayhan handsome?" Sarah asked, the excitement coursing through her body. Yes, it was the time. Now she would be regaled tales of her Prince Charming's humble, and elegant nature, and that he had only the utmost respect for servants.

But the only answers she got were various groans and mutterings, as the group of three walked away, heading towards the stables.

Caye rose a brow at his sister, "I'll take that as a no."

Sarah glared at her brother, "Oh, come on."

He was _not _going to ruin this for her.

The two Royals scampered toward the courtyard, and collecting themselves, Sarah smoothing her dress one last time and straightening her necklace.

She took a deep breath, it was time, she would meet her Prince Charming, and their adventure would begin. She would have her fairy tale.

"Here we go," Sarah whispered, her blood rushing like lightning in her veins.

She and Caye then stepped forward to join the group and start the adventure.

"Forgive us for our lateness," Sarah announced their presence as Caye gave a quick bow and scurried to the line of siblings.

"Oh, Odette, there you are," Richard sounded tense, though Sarah couldn't fathom why. After all, Rayhan had to be perfect. Didn't he? "Princes, this is my eldest daughter, Odette, and my second youngest son, Bernard. Odette, Bernard, this is Crown Prince Rayhan of Metallum, and his cousin, Jamal, the future Lord of Chalybs."

"Your Highnesses," Sarah gave the deepest curtsy she could manage.

Shaking nervously, she looked up at her future.

Rayhan was exactly how she had imagined: he was tall and impressive, dressed in a short sleeveless tunic of crimson, as pearly snakes slithered in embroidered patterns around his torso. He wore a simple pair black pants, made of a light material Sarah didn't recognize, as she knew that despite their appearance, leather was much too heavy for the scorching deserts of Metallum. For protection, he wore a simple shirt of mail under his tunic, and he was removing a pair a black riding gloves, that matched the boots on his feet.

His outfit perfectly showcased the strength of his battle-weathered muscles. Rayhan's posture was relaxed, but straight and confidant as a hand rested casually upon the hilt of his mighty sword. Seriousness was etched in his handsome face as pride seemed to radiant off of his very body.

And of course, he was devilishly handsome.

He had perfectly tanned skin, a strong jaw, and unlike his cousin, the perfect sized nose. His ruffled raven coloured hair was a little longer than the average, and he had perfectly straight teeth with matched the colour of the pearly snakes on his tunic. Finally were his sharp smoke grey eyes, a color only found in peoples of the Southern Countries of Metallum and Ignis.

Rayhan was everything Sarah had ever dreamed of.

But it was only when her blue eyes met his grey irises that her stomach dropped.

He was looking at her, taking in every inch that his eyes could reach, and not just of her face. His eyes swept over every inch of her body, and lingered on places he shouldn't, for far too long.

"Well, what do we have here?" he said with a smirk.

The Prince stepped forward, and began to circle Sarah, examining her from every angle he could find. Sarah couldn't help but cross her arms over her chest and send a helpless look to her father.

Rayhan was looking at her like a bird staring down his next meal.

"_No. This wasn't how it was supposed to go," _Sarah fearfully thought. _"He's supposed to be charming."_

The Prince came to a stop in front of Sarah, and looked at her from head to toe. Satisfied by his assessment, a sickening smirk crossed his face.

She could see her fairy tale shatter in front of her very eyes.

"Uh, I'm sorry," Sarah nervously managed to find her voice. "I must have interrupted."

"Oh no," Rayhan leered at her, "Your father was just telling me about this Festival I'm to attend."

"_Maybe he's not a total loss," _Sarah tried to assured herself.

"Well," Sarah smiled uneasily at the Prince. "I hope you enjoy your visit."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll ensure it," Rayhan replied with a voice that meant no good.

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but no words came.

This was a disaster.

Fearing that she would say what was on her mind, and begin crying out to the Stars that this was all wrong, Sarah simply nodded to the Prince and hurried back into the line of her siblings. Quickly she took her place between Andrew and Eric, and then allowed herself to let out the shaky breath she had been holding back.

"Are you alright?" Eric muttered.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Andrew frowned, looking out at the Crown Prince of Metallum. "You look like you're about to cry."

"I'm fine, it's just…" Sarah locked eyes with her worried father. "Dad just won a bet."

* * *

><p>Dinner that night wasn't as bad as Sarah expected, in fact, it was quite pleasant.<p>

The Royals of Terra, Lignum, and Metallum sat around a huge oval shaped oak table in the Great Dining Room of the Palace of Silvus. Carved into the table were various scenes of hunting parties with an emphasis on the animal of the stag, Lignum's Royal Symbol.

The room was very dark, only lit by the moonlight filtering through the branches that knit together to form a roof. Due to the Palace being made entirely of trees, all form of fire was forbidden, only used in the stone kitchen detached from the main structure. On the walls hung tapestries of emerald and bronze, bearing more hunting scenes, and about a dozen guards lead by Elton lined the walls, ready to protect the Royals.

But somehow Sarah ended up getting stuck sitting right next to Rayhan.

Luckily, the Prince didn't bother her a lot during dinner, and in fact, he was quite helpful at identifying the dishes as the Royals feasted on specialities of the two countries. To be honest, it was kind of fun to try the different foods. Some of the Metallum dishes included things like mulukhiyi with chicken, lamb kibbeh pie, a delicious dip called tahini, and mounds of vegetables like squash, eggplant, and okra, a vegetable Sarah had never even heard of.

But best of all was a very rare, very rarely prepared, dish called shakshouka. It was made of eggs poached in a sauce made of chili peppers, onions, tomatoes, and seasoned with a spice called cumin. The dish was absolutely to die for.

"The reason it's so rare is that in our country, due to the desert conditions, it's very hard to raise chickens to produce eggs," Rayhan explained as Sarah's serving was laid in front of her. "In fact, the greatest insult one could bestow on my people, would be to throw an egg at someone, as it means you hate someone so much that you're willing to waste one of our rarest, most valuable items on insulting the person."

In turn, the Metallites enjoyed the Lignumi dishes that were foreign to them, including some of the best fish, pheasant, and venison dishes that Lignum could provide, and fruits and vegetables from the world famous Silvus orchard that grew every tree fruit and vegetable, except apples as per Richard's request.

"It's a thing to do with their mother," Richard explained.

"What about pears?" Jamal asked observing his plate. "They're the favorite of everyone in our family except my father."

Cayden frowned, "What's a pear?"

Rayhan smirked, "I guess that answers that question."

Other than King William telling everyone the adventures of his and Richard's younger days, the highlight of the meal was probably the looks on Rayhan and Jamal's faces when the table was served a course of squirrel. Of course, being Royals, they couldn't afford to offend the Lignumi hosts, and had to choke back their helpings. In fact, Jamal found he quite enjoyed it, though he would never tell a soul.

Dinner was going swimmingly, and Sarah even began to think that maybe she had misjudged the Princes.

And then came the last dinner course.

"So I explained to the girls how I had really been human the entire time, just enchanted to be a bear," William's regaled the group with the story of how he had been saved from his curse by Snow Whitearth, Rose Redearth, and Dunstan Ravenearth. "And Rose just looks me dead in the eye and says, 'Well, that doesn't make my sister falling for a bear any less creepy.'"

The table roared with laughter.

"Rose always was a firecracker," Richard laughed as the servants cleared away the dinner plates. "When she heard the rumor that I revived Elizabeth by kissing her, she just stared at me and asked, 'So do you make it a habit of running around kissing dead girls?'"

"Rumor?" Rayhan waited for the laughter to subside. "So, the kiss of life thing, that wasn't how it happened?"

"Oh, no," Richard shook his head, gesturing to a servant to refill his wine glass. "I mean, I did know and love her, so overcome with grief, I did kiss her, but that didn't wake her."

"Then what did?" Rayhan asked, nodding to the servant to refill his own wine glass.

"Well, he decides that he wanted to give her a proper burial," Elton nodded at Richard, taking on the story himself. "So Marshall starts to help Richard hitch the coffin to his horse, in a way that it wouldn't hurt the animal. Gregory, Lothar, and I lift up the coffin from the end by Lizzie's head, while the others are about to lift the foot end. Suddenly, the apple piece in her mouth falls out and she's gasping for breath. I swear, I have never heard less dignified screams from grown men than I did that day."

"And of course, Gregory is completely unfazed," Richard added. "The only thing he says is, 'Why didn't I think of that?'"

"That's Uncle Gregory for you," Sarah laughed as the servants laid down the first course of dessert in front of everyone. It was a simple fruit plate with fruits from Lignum, Metallum, and Terra, to whet the sweet tooth before the richer desserts. "Uncle Gregory could suddenly burst into flame and all he would say is 'I guess I don't need a jacket anymore'."

Jamal suddenly snorted, choking on his wine.

"Are you okay?" Andrew politely asked. He didn't really care if the Prince was okay or not, but Richard was a little too busy trying to stop Jane and Caye from throwing grapes at each other to do the pleasantries himself.

"Oh, nothing," Jamal dabbed the wine from his mouth with his napkin. "I was just thinking about our family, namely my sister."

"Someone setting on fire reminds you of your sister?" Eric frowned. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to explain that one."

"Arvid," William tried to warn Eric, but Jamal and Rayhan were already exchanging looks.

"You know, Rayhan, this Arvid boy sort of reminds me of your brother," Jamal said.

"You mean that pathetic excuse of a Prince?" Rayhan snorted. He then regarded Eric, "Actually you're right."

"Invite the Princes of Metallum, you said," Richard muttered to William, sawing a piece of melon viciously in half. "It'll be fun, you said."

"You know, maybe we should change the subject," William offered, knowing the story that was about to come. "Oh, did I tell you all that my nephew Patrick's going to be staying at the Palace of Terra with me?"

"No, no," Rayhan interrupted. "They wanted to hear about Adara."

"Adara?" Cayden asked. "Is that your cousin?"

"Yeah, she's about your age," Rayhan replied.

"Your Highness," William cut in. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

"No, come on, Jamal, tell them," Rayhan urged. "It's a funny story."

William glanced awkwardly at Richard, "We really shouldn't."

"Oh come on," Richard smiled, taking a bite of his pear. "How bad could it be?"

William frowned at Richard, "You have no idea."

"Alright," Jamal laughed, setting his fork down. "So my sister Adara, when she was six, she, uh, she fell into a fireplace."

"Oh my Winds!" Sarah gasped. "Was she okay?"

"Not really, she was in there for a couple minutes before she got pulled out," Jamal chuckled. "Her face got really messed up. She has these big, ugly burn scars all over the upper right side of her face, and she doesn't see as well from that eye, so it's so much easier to sneak up on her from that side."

The table was absolutely silent.

"I'm sorry, what's supposed to be funny about your sister burning her face?" Eric asked.

"If you had seen her face, you'd see the humor," Jamal smirked.

"It can't be that bad," Cayden frowned.

Jamal shook his head, "Trust me, if you saw old Fireface, you'd run for the hills."

The silence returned.

"_Alright," _Sarah watched Rayhan carefully; he was holding back laughter, clearly thinking of his scarred cousin. _"I for sure _didn't _get the wrong impression about him."_

Sarah looked around the table, and she could see the disappointment in her father's eyes.

"_So much for fairy tales," _Sarah pushed a strawberry around her plate with her fork.

"Well it's a good thing she was pulled out," Lindsey tried to ease the tension. "Who pulled her out?"

"My mother," Jamal replied. "It's a good thing too. That screaming was starting to get annoying."

Andrew choked on his drink and the dreaded implication set in on everyone.

"You were just standing there?" Cayden exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny to watch," Jamal chuckled.

"But not as funny as when your mother hit you," Rayhan pointed out. "She saw us just standing there laughing, and smacked Jamal pretty hard, yelling about not helping."

"I would have hit her back, teach her obedience and all, but since she's the child of a King, it's illegal to hurt her." Jamal glared at his cousin, "It's how this idiot got out of a smack from her."

"You'd _hit_ your mother?" Eric stared at Jamal in disgust.

"Of course," Jamal didn't see a single thing wrong with his statement. "That's how things go in Metallum. Disobedience deserves physical punishment. Fathers hit sons, sisters hit brothers, sons hit mothers, nieces hit aunts, and so on."

Richard tried to restrain himself against the younger man, feeling a strange hot anger coursing through his blood. His fatherly side was raging against the injustice done to this strange girl. Richard's knuckles were dead white as he clutched his fists tightly under the table.

The Lignumi King whispered to William, "Please tell me all Metallites aren't like this."

"No, they're pretty decent, but they are okay with anyone hitting anyone as punishment if it's justified." William answered. "They only really draw the line of the person getting hit is under the age of twelve, but even in some circles they turn a blind eye to that. I do think you'd like Lady Princess Tahira and her husband, but something went really wrong with the rest of the family."

"So your sister Adara," Sarah hesitantly asked, "are her scars permanent?"

"Doctor says they might get better over the years, but she'll always be disgusting to look at," Jamal answered. "Dad's really having trouble finding someone to marry the freak."

"Why would he be looking to marry off his twelve year old daughter?" Cayden frowned recalling that the girl was his age. "You can't marry a girl until she's sixteen."

"Actually, thirteen in our country, if she can bear children." Rayhan corrected. The Prince looked over Sarah, "You know we have rumors in our country. Apparently at the Cycle Ceremony for the Star Queen's daughter, she gave the leaders of each country a prophecy about their children."

"That's true," Richard was glad of the subject change, all of his children had become rather quiet. But he was quiet nervous as to where this was going, especially what Asteria had said to him that day.

"You know, Odette," Rayhan smiled at Sarah, "Asteria said that my father's heir would be a great man and the greatest king my country will ever know."

"Did he now?" Sarah kept her eyes on her plate, something sick stirring in her stomach. She shouldn't have risen her hopes.

"Do you know what he said about your parents?" Rayhan continued.

"No clue," Sarah's answer was short but false.

"She said that Richard's daughter would be one of the most beautiful women she ever had the pleasure of meeting," Rayhan smiled.

Sarah swallowed, the Prince was watching her with that hunter look again.

"I'd love for you to come to Metallum one day, so I could show my people what true beauty looks like," Rayhan's voice was low and husky.

It was then she felt a leg brush hers.

Sarah shot out of her seat.

"I'm going to bed," Sarah announced looking quite like a deer in a hunter's sights. "I'm sorry but I'm starting to feel ill."

She sent a look to her father, and Richard nodded encouragingly at her.

"Oh," Rayhan looked surprised and a little confused as he looked between the Princess and her father. "Well, I think I'm done anyway. Let me accompany you."

"No!" Sarah snapped, and she glared at the Prince. She was surprised at the courage she had to say what came next, "You're the one that's making me sick. Arvid, will you escort me?"

Eric threw down his napkin as he stood up and took his sister's arm, "With pleasure."

As the two began exiting the room, Cayden jumped up, "Wait for me!"

"And me!" Lindsey cried.

One by one, each of the siblings stood, and left the room.

"Your Highnesses," Andrew gave a stiff bow, leaving the table last.

Richard sighed watching as each of his children exited the hall.

"I'm so sorry about my daughter, Your Highness," Richard turned back to the foreign Prince.

"No, it's alright," Rayhan smirked, bringing his wine to his lips. "Besides, I like a challenge."

The Lignumi King glared at William as the two Metallite Princes exchanged knowing looks.

Richard whispered to William, "Remind me to kill you later for your so called great idea."

"Agreed."


	8. A Difference in Values

A/N: So I got to the halfway mark of this chapter and realized that this was 20 pages long, so I'm sorry, but I had to cut this chapter in half. Just blame Larissa and her sudden need to explain a lot about Stars and their culture.

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven<p>

A Difference in Values

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sarah awoke to a knock on her door.<p>

The heavy knock shot her upright, erasing the all too familiar images of the dream she had had the previous night. Though morning had a habit of expunging the details of the images that danced in her head, Sarah knew it wasn't a new dream. In fact, it was the same dream that had been haunting her for years.

She could remember the barest details: her current self, standing at her mother's funeral watching her younger shadow making the choice to be a mother. She could remember tears, the way her father awkwardly crushed her to his body, trying not to rouse the babies of Jane and Avery in his arms.

Most of all she remembered the devastatingly beautiful woman she saw that day. The auburn hair. The tanned complexion. Those sharp hazel eyes. That terrifying frown.

Those were the details she could never forget.

It was most curious, because if Sarah were able to make a conscious decision about what details to keep, she most assuredly would have kept those the daybreak stole from her.

Her dream had different variations, some images appearing every time, and some only once or twice. It's a wonder to think of how might this story have changed, how it would have influenced Sarah's decisions, if she had only remembered even one of those details.

What would have happened if she could recall the even more beautiful woman standing at that funeral, tall with her white blonde hair, her eyes the colour of ice, and pale skin that seemed to simply glow? What of the beautiful swan who bore a golden locket, who traded faces with a lively little dove? Or of the fireflowers and the nettles that twinned with them, and how her hands burned at the very sight of them?

What one must wonder most of all is what would have happened if Sarah had remembered the image that played most constantly within her dream? The phoenix with brown eyes that sparkled with innocence and laughter, and who bore the most glorious smile she would ever witness.

How things would have changed.

But as the knock at her door roused her from the dream, once again that handsome phoenix disappeared from her memory as morning stole him from her very mind.

Sarah yawned, rubbing her eyes as she cast a look to the twisted branches that formed her window. The sun was up. It was no longer early morning, but it certainly did not appear to be near the time she would normally wake.

The knock sounded again.

Sarah groaned, half cursing Aileen for the early intrusion, but decided that her friend and handmaiden had the right idea about waking up early that day.

"_We do have guests after all," _Sarah pushed the covers aside.

As she climbed out of her bed, Sarah glanced at the robe hanging over the chair seated at her vanity table. She shrugged as she glanced down at the nightgown she wore: Aileen dressed her anyway and had seen Sarah in much less, so what was the point?

"Alright, I'm coming," Sarah yawned, stretching as she sleepily opened the door.

Upon opening the door, Sarah gasped, and slammed the door, instantly regretting her decision not to throw on her robe.

"Morning, Your Highness," Sarah heard Aileen's weak voice, where she stood between Rayhan and Elton on the other side of the door.

Sarah gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath to collect herself.

"Good morning," Sarah called back, doing her best to keep an even voice.

Quickly, she threw the door open, yanked Aileen into the room, and slammed the door closed.

"What is Prince Rayhan doing here?" Sarah hissed at her handmaiden.

"I'm sorry," Aileen apologized. "Everyone was collected a few hours ago for breakfast, but your father decided to let you sleep in. The Prince inquired after you, and once the meal was finished, insisted on checking up on you."

"What?" Sarah frowned.

"Everything alright in there?" Elton's voice wafted in.

"We're fine!" Sarah called to the guard. "Aileen's just getting me decent!"

Aileen nodded, taking the hint of her instructions, and began laying out Sarah's attire for the day as Sarah stepped behind her privacy screen and began to undress from her night clothes.

"Why would Father let Prince Rayhan check up on me?" Sarah asked as Aileen handed her day attire to her.

"Oh, His Majesty didn't want to, but then Prince Jamal reminded him of the hospitality customs, and King Richard was sort of backed into a corner," Aileen explained.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Hospitality customs, of course."

Like most laws and international orders of conduct, the hospitality customs dated back to the quest of the five founders of the Kingdoms of Elementum. In fact, it was King Oliver, the first ruler of Lignum, who officially set down the rules of hospitality. He had been the first person that Asteria had encountered during her great quest, and had it not been for his unconditional giving to the stranger who showed up at his door begging for help and information, it very well may be that the Tyrant would never have been defeated.

There were many facets of the hospitality customs, but what it basically broke down to was give your guests all that they request, as long as it does not compromise the law, or someone's honour.

"The King granted Prince Rayhan's request," Aileen continued. "But Elton had to accompany him because Rayhan is a stranger to us, and it would be unwise to send him to your quarters alone."

"Oh really?" Sarah laughed as Aileen laced her corset, "And how did he take that?"

"Surprisingly well. Although I think he knew it to be unwise to upset King Richard any further. Your father was giving him some pretty dark looks this morning."

"With good reason," Sarah replied as Aileen stepped back, having put the final touches on the Princess' outfit. "He acted atrociously at dinner last night."

"You are aware, I _can _hear you through the door, right?" rang in Rayhan's voice.

The girls' eyes widened, and Aileen struggled to stifle a laugh at Sarah's expense. Sarah was largely unperturbed by the announcement, however. She crossed to the door and took a deep breath, before opening it to face Rayhan.

"Well it's true, Your Highness," Sarah addressed Rayhan, deciding it was better to try to adjust the Prince's attitude rather than save face. "You were quite out of line at dinner last night. Good morning, Elton."

"Good morning, Princess," Elton watched the royals in amusement as he waited for the Prince's reaction. The Metallite didn't seem a danger to Sarah, but Elton was still on guard.

"Good morning," Rayhan politely greeted as Sarah's attention turned back to him.

Rayhan's expression was a confusing picture. He tried to put on a mask of amusement and indifference, but gritted teeth and more than mild annoyance told another story. Sarah could tell he was upset, but she couldn't tell to quite what extent.

"Morning," Sarah felt her confidence slip away as she politely greeted the Prince. Still, despite her anger she had to continue to play the grateful host, "You're looking well."

"As are you," Rayhan nodded at her attire: it was another green dress that was a little fancier than her usual day to day wear as evident by the tighter corset, bronze silk stitches that accented her bodice, and long sleeves that perfectly encased her arms. Her hair had yet to be done, and naturally since it was not a formal occasion, she did not wear her bronze tiara, but she still looked the proper image of a Princess.

"Are you enjoying your visit, Your Highness?" Sarah asked.

"Probably a lot more than you, Princess," Rayhan shot. Though his voice was polite and calm, there certainly was a dark edge to it, "Forgive me, but weren't you criticizing my conduct at supper last night before I interrupted?"

Sarah swallowed, she would have to proceed with caution, but she certainly was not about to back down.

"Yes," Sarah replied. "Yes, I was."

"Well please forgive me," Rayhan continued. "I fear my behaviour was unbecoming by Lignumi standards, but since I measure my actions against the conduct of Metallite society, I fear I do not see my error."

Elton smirked and shared a look with Aileen, who was stifling a giggle. They both had the same thing running through their minds.

"_This ought to be good."_

"Really?" Sarah crossed her arms at Rayhan. "You can't think of a single thing wrong with yesterday?"

"Well… perhaps an action or two," Rayhan showed no sign of defeat as he too crossed his arms. "Perhaps… The way I first approached you?"

"You mean when you circled me like your prey?"

Rayhan looked startled, "When I what?"

"When you circled me like your prey," Sarah took a step forward. To prove her point, she began to circle him and inspect the Prince as he had done to her the day before. "How you walked around me, eyes darting up and down to observe every inch of me."

Rayhan watched the Princess in amusement as she continued to walk around him, and came to a stop in front of him. Arms crossed, eyes glaring, and lips set in what could only be described as a pout, though clearly intended to come off as something much more fearsome. She looked less of a she-wolf as intended, than a child told they couldn't have their way. If she could see herself through new eyes, like that of Rayhan, Sarah might have realised that she did not have quite as formidable effect on people as she expected.

"_She's but a spoiled child," _Rayhan concluded, and in fact there was some truth to his thoughts. _"Idyllic notions, delusions of grandeur, and used to getting things her way. All I need is an excuse or two, a few flattering buzzwords, a couple of grand gestures, and she'll be mine within the month."_

"Forgive me, Princess," Rayhan chuckled as his mind began working for an explanation the Lignumis around him would buy. He could feel Elton's amused, yet suspicious gaze as if a force on the back of his neck. "Might I enquire if you and your family had studied Metallite customs in regards to introductions, before my arrival?"

The question caught Sarah off guard, "Uh… Of course. And we followed all of them."

"_Where is he going with this?" _Sarah wondered as she glanced to Aileen.

"Well, if you feel you met all of our customs, then I fear your information might be a little outdated," Rayhan said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, clearly you are unfamiliar with our custom of inspection."

"Custom of inspection?" Sarah echoed, frowning at the Prince.

"The custom of inspection," Rayhan began, "is when you meet with a large group of strangers, and in the middle of that meeting, a new person enters the group and is introduced to yourself. In the middle of meeting your family, you suddenly entered with your brother. When this type of thing happens in Metallum, the person whom the new member of the party of strangers is being introduced to, must inspection the new member fully in order to determine that this is not some potential assassin armed with weapons and there to do an evil deed."

"Really?" Sarah blinked. She looked over to Elton, "Is this true?"

"I've never heard of such a thing," Elton replied. "Then again, I've never met a Metallite before."

"It's alright," Rayhan assured the doubtful Princess. "Our countries have been cut off from each other for a couple centuries, and this custom only caught into practice about eighty years ago, after an attack on my Grandfather. Your ignorance is not something I will fault you for, and in fact, I shall take the blame. I should have explained myself at the time. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

As Rayhan gave Sarah a small bow, the Princess looked at her handmaiden and guard awkwardly and unsure of herself.

"Oh," Sarah weakly said. "Uh… Yes, you are forgiven, Your Highness. Forgive me for my accusation."

"That's alright," Rayhan smiled. It was gentle and welcoming smile, and Sarah couldn't help but notice that she liked it. "It's not the first time I've been told I looked like I was hunting prey. I really have to work on that. Scares off the beautiful maidens."

Sarah smiled, "Well you wouldn't want that."

"_Maybe I was wrong about him," _Sarah thought.

"What about dinner," Elton jolted her out of her thoughts. "Specifically regarding the conversation about your cousin and brother?"

Rayhan looked pained at the mention of it, "My family has a complicated relationship, that I do not wish to discuss with just anyone, Sir Knight."

Elton raised an unimpressed brow, but kept his place and did not push further.

"What of, with a Princess?" Sarah shot. Her place very much did allow for her to push the issue. "Or am I like my brother, and just a pathetic excuse of a Princess?"

"Your Highness," Rayhan kindly answered, "I apologize for my unkind words against your brother, as I should not have judged him without knowing him. On the same note, I do ask you do not make my same mistake and condemn me for my judgement my brother, whom you have not met, as opposed to myself, who has known him since birth. As I said before, my family has a complicated relationship, as does yours. I have heard whispers from your Nobles and citizens. Disgusting whispers about you and your father, which could be supported by the closeness I observed between the two of you last night. But I don't judge you for that, nor will I allow myself to believe them, and make a final judgement on your character, as I have known you for less than a day. So, I do apologize for my actions, and if at all possible, could we just wash the slate clean and try to start anew?"

Sarah looked at Rayhan carefully; his words seemed genuine, but she still didn't quite trust him.

"I will forgive you," Sarah finally said. "But I don't wish to clean our slate just yet."

"Then I suppose I'll have to keep working to earn your trust, Your Highness," Rayhan bowed deeply.

"I suppose you will," Sarah replied, giving a slight bow back.

"Well," Elton cleared his throat. "If everything's all cleared up now, perhaps we can let the girl get back to dressing for the day. So for you, Prince Rayhan, the King has extended an invitation for you to join himself and Prince Andrew as they take audiences today. It starts in twenty minutes, so we should hurry."

"Of course," Rayhan nodded. "It's been a pleasure, Your Highness."

And with a final bow, Rayhan and Elton disappeared back down the hall. Aileen and Sarah stared after them in silence for quite some time after that.

"So," Aileen finally broke the silence. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Sarah sighed, returning to her room and seating herself at the vanity table for Aileen to start tending her hair.

Aileen brushed Sarah's golden locks with a beautiful hairbrush of rosewood inlaid with gold filigree and had fine deer tail bristles, recovered from a stag that had been served at a feast years ago. In Lignum, no part of an animal was wasted when it was slaughtered for its meat, and in fact there were strict penalties for those who did waste an animal carcass.

The children of Richard had naturally always had the finest things in life. In fact, when each child began their schooling, Richard had given each of them a diamond pencil and a golden slate, as he had received from his father when he began his schooling. It was mostly symbolic, as society had moved to parchment and ink long before even Richard's father was in school, but it was a tradition that lead all the way back to Oliver.

But their wealth had been imprinted in their minds from birth. In fact, one of Sarah's only memories of her mother involved Elizabeth reading to Sarah, Andrew, Lindsey, and Eric from a wondrous storybook full of pictures, which their father joked had cost as much as half a kingdom. After Elizabeth's passing, Sarah had taken possession of the book, and now every night she read to Jane, and sometimes Lindsey and Caye would join them, the rest of her siblings having outgrown the practice of listening to a bedtime story.

Though Sarah knew the word poverty, her life had been so comfortable she couldn't imagine the feeling of an empty stomach or the pain of hands roughed from hard work. As Aileen brushed the Princess's hair, Sarah couldn't help be compare their hands. Sarah's were soft and blemish free, but Aileen had small scratches of needlework and other household chores, and every one of her finger pads were calloused.

"He's rough around the edges," Aileen finally gave her opinion of the Prince. "But he certainly could give you a life of comfort."

"I suppose he could," Sarah smiled lightly, her head still swimming from the encounter with Rayhan. "He's not very charming though."

"Well if you're looking for Prince Charming, you might just have to hold out a little longer, because there doesn't appear to be one in Metallum."

"I'm not looking for Prince Charming," Sarah blushed. "I'm just looking for… For…"

"Someone who's worth leaving your family behind?" Aileen suggested.

Sarah swallowed. There it was: the words she had feared for years. She was terrified to find love because it would mean leaving her family. Who else could provide the love, comfort, understanding, and protection of her family? More so, she frightened because of one nagging thought.

"Aileen," Sarah's voice trembled, turning to face the handmaiden. "What am I without my family?"

Aileen smiled gently at her friend. She placed the brush down and crouched to the Princess' level, taking Sarah's hands into her own and speaking to her with a tone that no other could use with Sarah: the tone of a best friend.

"Titles, and banners, and wealth aside," Aileen said, "you are Sarah, the kindest, bravest, and most generous person I have ever known. If this Prince Rayhan isn't the one for you, then we'll get past this and find you your real Prince Charming, because I know he's out there."

Sarah smiled, "You really think so?"

"I know so," Aileen nodded. "Somewhere out there, there's a man who is just as kind, and brave, and generous as you. He'll love you for you alone, and he'll never force you from your family nor any of your goals. He will be happy, and gentle, and handsome, and funny, and thoughtful, and smart, and perfectly flawless."

* * *

><p>Larissa found Christian face first in a pile of books, gently snoring with a small puddle of drool collecting on the page of a book under the sleeping Prince.<p>

"Christian, wake up," Larissa shook her friend's shoulder. "Come on, wake up."

Christian muttered something as he mindlessly pushed Larissa's hand away and rolled away from her in his sleep.

Larissa frowned, glancing at the table Christian was slumped over in the Grand Library of Ignis in the Royal Palace of Calor. Laid around him were priceless books, some of them centuries old and extremely delicate. Her eyes fell on a particularly large book, thicker than Christian's head lying next to it.

She knew that there was only one thing to do.

"Are you legally allowed to hit the Future King of Ignis?" Christian groaned, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he rubbed the bump on his head that was quickly forming.

"Hey, I tried to shake you awake, but you just swatted me away," Larissa smirked, pulling up a chair. "What are you doing in the library so early?"

"I was catching up on some homework last night, and I must have fallen asleep." Christian's eyes landed on the puddle of drool on the book, "Oh, vae!"

Larissa watched in amusement as Christian frantically began to scrub at the page with his sleeve, trying to mop up the drool.

"What about you?" Christian asked amidst his scrubbing, but the stain wouldn't come out. "What are you doing here so early? Shouldn't you still be asleep?"

"Christian, for the hundredth time, Stars don't sleep," Larissa groaned in exasperation. "Our bodies recharge when we immerse ourselves in the energy of the elements."

Christian's head shot up, "Wait, so if I were to hypothetically set you on fire?"

"That's not how it works!" Larissa snapped.

"Then how does it?"

"I would put my hands out to an active fire, and I would remove the energy of the fire, and absorb it into myself." Catching Christian's baffled expression, Larissa groaned and rubbed her temples, "Just forget, I'll show you later. Your Aunt's looking for you. She wants some help from you and Evander for Victor's coming of age party."

Christian frowned, "We're having a party for Victor?"

"Of course. It's his birthday in a few weeks, and he's finally ended his maturity period. Why wouldn't we have a party?"

"Well, you know," Christian ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.

"What? Is it because his birthday is the same day as The Festival of Mina?"

"Well, yeah," Christian really didn't want to say it. "Plus, you know, the _other _thing."

Larissa frowned at the Prince, "Look, I know that you two have never been close, what with the age difference, the lineage, and that whole awkward political thing between your Dad, Uncle, and Grandfather, but that doesn't mean Victor should get any less respect than yourself when it comes to these things. He's just as much your cousin, as Evander is."

Christian gave a half-hearted smile, "I know, I was just thinking that since my Uncle always pushes the celebration back because of… _you know. _I just figured that he might do it again this year."

"Well he can't this year," Larissa said. "I was talking to Evander earlier, and apparently we're supposed to leave for the negotiations with Lignum three days after the Festival. A Ranger by the name of Patrick Lordstone will meet us in Meridiem and take us through the mountains."

Christian raised a brow, "They're only sending us one Ranger?"

Larissa shrugged, "He's the son of King William's late Captain of the Guard, and sister-in-law. He's allegedly very capable for his age, and he'll be joining the Palace Guard when we arrive. Plus another Ranger named Balen will help guide us through Petram, so we'll have extra help through the roughest part."

"I suppose," Christian frowned. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, "Wait, what do you mean _for his age_? How old is this Patrick?"

"Seventeen."

"_Seventeen!_"

"Oh come on," Larissa laughed. "I don't think King William would have sent him if he didn't trust this boy. Actually I think the two of you will get along quite well. He's only a month younger than you, and both of his parents have passed away, so you'll be able to relate to each other."

"Great," Christian glowered at his friend. "Then I guess we can just go ahead and start a club. We'll even let Felicity in on it, what with her mother being gone too."

Larissa bit her lip, if there was one thing Christian didn't like to joke about, it was the loss of his parents.

"I'm sorry," Larissa's voice was barely above a whisper. "I guess I shouldn't joke about parents, what with mine being alive. Even with the relationship between my Mother and I."

Christian looked away in guilt. Larissa was as close to her father as one could possibly be, but with the way Queen Asteria acted, one might not even know the Queen Star even had a daughter, the girl being more of an annoyance than a treasured loved one.

"I'm sorry too," Christian said.

A very long stretch of silence followed.

It must have been a good twenty minutes before Larissa glanced at the papers laid out upon the desk.

"So you're studying the Festival of Mina?" Larissa awkwardly shifted the topic.

"Oh," Christian glanced at his papers as Larissa picked up one and began reading. "Kind of. It's a comparison of The Festival to the celebrations of Victory Day, the day where-"

"My mother defeated the Tyrant Celestella." Larissa smirked at her friend, "Trust me, I know all about that topic."

"Right," Christian slightly reddened having temporarily forgotten about the Star's lineage. "Actually, there are a few questions about the celebrations in Aqua that I haven't been able to find in books."

"Christian," Larissa laughed, picking up another page and swiftly scanning his work, "I think you have everything about VD already. Why don't you start focusing on the Mina part?"

"Because that would mean thinking about the Festival of Mina," Christian groaned.

Larissa had to hold back laughter as she saw the look on Christian's face; he looked as if a child told they had to dress up and act their best behaviour when all they wanted to do was splash in the mud.

"Wow, you _really _don't want to participate in the Festival, do you?" Larissa asked.

"It's not that I hate it," Christian groaned, "it's just…"

"What?"

Christian sighed, "I'm feeling a lot of pressure from the Council this year; even more than last year."

"Well, can you blame them?" Larissa was very delicate with her words; this was a conversation Christian needed, and he needed it from someone he trusted. "I know you're only seventeen, but it has been seven years since your father passed away, and Ignis is eager to see you as King. Everyone's been waiting for you to finally meet the conditions."

Christian bitterly looked at Larissa, "You mean that I can't be crowned King until I marry and produce an heir?"

"Yes, that." Larissa sighed, "I think the Council is mainly putting pressure on you because they fear the time restraint."

Christian looked away in guilt, "So you think I have it too?"

"I just think that it would be foolish to pretend the possibility isn't there. It's been in your bloodline for centuries."

"Perfect," Christian muttered. "You know, I get enough pressure to marry on any given day, but at Festival time, it's ridiculous. Do you know how many women have thrown themselves at my feet, simply because I wear a crown?"

"You poor thing," Larissa rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Larissa. Cut me some slack. With all of that shallowness and superficiality, how can I possibly find an honest partner?"

"You are really talking to the wrong girl, Christian. My love life is non-existent. The only things I know about romance is the experiences of my friends back in Aqua."

"If you're trying to convince me to marry one of my friends, I don't feel anything for you or Felicity."

"Well, considering I have less romantic feelings toward you than Marcus does to Penelope, I can honestly say that that relieves me," Larissa chuckled. "Plus, yes, Felicity's your friend, but Sebastian would have to drag that girl to the pedestal to marry you."

"Then what was the point of mentioning your friends in Aqua?"

"I mentioned them because the Aquanian standards I was raised with aren't the same as your standards." Larissa hesitated, "Let's just say, Stars don't exactly conform to humans' notions of proper relationship dynamics."

Christian looked at her with interest.

"Don't get us wrong," Larissa explained, "we do believe in monotony and love and all that, but things are different in Aqua."

"How so?"

"Well, unless a Star killed, or comes down with something, or gets in an accident, our natural lifespan lasts for exactly 1000 years. So typically the people we're attracted to when we're younger, we get sick of by the two or three hundred year mark. We don't marry unless a relationship is truly that serious. Otherwise we pair together for a few decades or centuries, and then after a while, we may or may not drift apart and decide to end our arrangement."

"What if you fell in love with a human? Would you get married then?"

An uncomfortable look crossed Larissa's face, "Again, it's difficult to talk about, but to have Human-Star relationship means a lot of sacrifice. You can pair with a human just fine, but you must be willing to live a long stretch of life without them once their course of life ends. But to get married to a human is another thing entirely, because to marry a human means that you are committing your soul to them, and when you do that, you must become a human."

Christian's jaw almost dropped, "You can change into a human?"

"I can change into anything I want," Larissa replied matter-of-factly. "Shape shifting is one of our powers; I'm appearing to you as a human right now. If I were in my true form, I would be a column of light so bright, it would hurt to look at me. But when a Star marries a human, or whatever creature you may fall in love with, I once heard of a Star who shifted into a squirrel, fell in love with another squirrel, and lived out the rest of their days as a squirrel, but when you marry another species, you are locked into that shape. You would still retain your other powers, but you would lose all ability to shape shift and you would take on the lifespan of whatever creature you became."

Christian frowned, "What about divorce?"

Larissa's face darkened, "There is no divorce. Even if your partner leaves you, once you've locked into a shape, you can't return to what you were before. And if two Stars who marry want to split up, you are forbidden from partnering with anyone else. That's why we very rarely marry, you have to be 100 percent certain it's until death do you part. That's why I'll never marry, especially to a human."

Christian shifted awkwardly, caught between Larissa's clear dislike for the subject and his curiosity to know more.

"Can I?" Christian hesitated, "Can I ask one more thing?"

Larissa turned to him in surprise, "You mean you're not just going to ask it?"

"You clearly don't want to talk about it, and we can change the subject if you want."

Larissa smiled kindly, "That's the great thing about you, Christian. You always ask permission. Okay, one more question."

"Other than your parents," Christian asked, "do you know of any other married Stars?"

"Just one," Larissa held a hint of sadness to her voice as if speaking of a wound long healed, yet rousing the memory of it was painful. "My Mother's closest advisor, Eosphoros, married a Star by the name of Vespera. They had a daughter named Taini, who is one of my closest Star friends."

Larissa took a deep breath and Christian waited for her to continue the story.

"Vespera's gift was the ability to perceive a person's weak spots and the action it would take to bring them down, whether it be mental, physical, or emotional," Larissa explained. "So when Maeveen took a hold of Terra, my Mother knew from previous experience that she wasn't capable of defeating Maeveen on her own, so naturally my Mother sent Vespera with a team of four others to take out Maeveen. Maeveen knew that Vespera was coming, so she made a sneak attack on Vespera the second they arrived. Vespera don't have enough time to even glance at Maeveen before she was killed. The rest of the team was dealt with before Vespera's body even hit the ground. Taini was only four days old when her mother was killed."

"Poor girl," Christian had no other words to offer knowing from his own experience that no words of pity could comfort the loss Taini had suffered.

"It's made her stronger," Larissa shrugged. "Besides, Taini never knew her mother, so she's never really felt any loss about it. Eosphoros is another story; even in death his bond of marriage seals him to Vespera, not that he's ever looked at another woman."

"Was Vespera a nice woman?" Christian asked.

"Oh, I have no idea," Larissa replied. "It happened a while before I was born. Taini's the oldest of our little group."

"Your group?"

"There's a group of five of us. Taini, Zeke, myself, Esther, and then Sterling." Larissa gave a wistful sigh, "I miss them."

"How long has it been since you've seen them?"

"Let me think. I missed the last VD, having stayed in Calor, so it was probably the one before that."

"Well," Christian began gathering the books on the desk, his mind nagging him to remember that Aunt Penelope was still waiting for him. "I bet Victory Day was just as fun here and in Aqua."

"Yeah right!" Larissa snorted, snatching a book to help Christian. "Nothing can top VD celebrations in Aqua. The fireworks, the food, the drinks, the dancing, there's nothing that even comes close. You really should come to Aqua one year for VD."

Larissa's suggestion made Christian pause. It really struck him as he had never been outside of Ignis, save for the occasional visit to Terra (any negotiations with Metallum always resulted in a Metallite coming to Calor, so Christian had never been to Metallum). Plus there was the fact that to get to Aqua it would mean they would have to sail there, and although he was no thalassophilic, Christian had always wanted to go sailing having been entranced by stories from Evander who controlled the province of Iste which was Ignis' major seaside power.

Most of all, Christian paused at Larissa's suggestion because something deep inside of him was pulling at him, almost as if it was hinting that there was something he had to find.

Something waiting for him in Aqua.

"Yeah," Christian smiled. "I really should."


	9. The Danger of Boredom

A/N: I wanted to put this note at the bottom as it's more of a personal note, but I found it really broke the tension if I put it at the end, so I'm sorry for this short little thing.

YES! SEVEN MONTHS LATER AND I _FINALLY _GOT THROUGH THIS CHAPTER!

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight<p>

The Danger of Boredom

* * *

><p>Jamal was unbelievably bored.<p>

After Rayhan had been excused from breakfast it had become very apparent that no one had any ideas as to how they were to entertain the younger Prince of Metallum. Or at least, no ideas to his liking.

Jamal had sneered at the offer to train with Prince Arvid, to ride with Marshall Stablewood, to receive a tour of the Palace from King William, to peruse the books of the library with the Great Tutor, Nestor Owlwood, and to be explained the background of the pictures in the portrait hall, which displayed paintings all the way back to the reign of King Oliver, with Tom Brushwood, the Master painter.

The Prince, in fact, seemed more interested in the maids and the schedule of Princess Talia, than anything else. Richard had grumbled at his options but opted for letting the Prince oversee the daily workings of the servants, and just prayed that they would uphold the strict rules about what was an acceptable relationship between the servants and those they served in the Palace.

"_This Palace is the worst place I've ever visited," _Jamal thought with a sneer, observing the room and keeping an eye out for any pretty maids. _"I wish Princess Odette would just give in to Rayhan, or we could get that data for Maeveen, so we could go home."_

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" a timid voice broke Jamal from his thoughts.

"What?" Jamal snapped.

"If you could please, Your Highness, but you're standing in the way of the bedding I'm supposed to wash," A young maid was trembling as she addressed the Prince, his eyes roaming over her as he inspected her.

She was a tiny blonde thing who looked far too easy to snap in two. The maid was no more than eleven or twelve, and puberty had clearly not even graced her doorstep yet. She wore a plain brown dress, that, although clearly was made of a more luxurious material than the lowly servants of the Palace of Ferrum, in Metallum, it appeared to be standard on every servant in the room, save for the few attendants that resided higher on the chain of command. The girl didn't even have a single decoration upon her.

Jamal glanced at the cart of bedding he was leaning against and then back at the girl.

"_Not even worth the effort," _Jamal concluded.

"Alright," he stepped aside to allow the girl access to her chore.

"_Winds, this is going to be a long trip if I don't find _something _to play with," _Jamal continued scanning the room.

Unfortunately every girl he saw had something wrong with them. Too ugly, too old, too young (even _he_ had some standards), not high enough in rank to be worthy of _entertaining _a Prince, or worst of all, not enough confidence to break.

Certainly there had to be someone?

"Morning Aileen!"

At the sound of the call, Jamal's head snapped to the door where he saw a maid entering.

The girl appeared to be but a few years younger than him, wearing a green dress and decorated with a few simple bronze accessories that indicated her superior ranking. It was that tidbit of information that made Jamal recognize her to be Princess Odette's personal handmaiden.

Jamal smiled, but it was not a mask of joy, rather one of malicious intent.

Aileen never was, nor would ever be considered beautiful. She had simple pale skin, a smattering of light freckles across her nose, blue eyes, and long, straight, light brown hair. She certainly was no Goddess among men, and no head would turn when she walked into a room except in an occasion such as this when someone called attention to her. Aileen had the classically pleasant look that was the epitome of the term pretty.

But that wasn't what made Jamal smile.

What made Jamal smile was the confidence that she clearly exuded.

"_Looks like I've found my project." _

Jamal continued to watch her, Aileen unaware of the danger that lurked not that far away as she went about her chores.

When she finally left the room, Jamal's beady eyes following after her, the Prince gave out a dark chuckle.

"_After all, the best rides are on creatures you've broken."_

* * *

><p>Rayhan was unbelievably bored.<p>

He had been invited to join Andrew to observe as Richard took audiences from the citizens of Lignum. It was a training exercise for when Andrew would be King. Andrew would listen to the citizen, and then Richard would ask Andrew what to do, and give feedback to whatever his son's answer was, and how Andrew could improve.

And Andrew, Richard found, needed much improvement.

"Call in the next citizen," Richard ordered Elton, and the Knight bowed before exiting the room to fetch the next in line.

"How am I doing, Dad?" Andrew nervously asked, glancing at Rayhan who leaned against the wall, and watched the scene with a smirk.

"You're doing fine," Richard assured his son, seated upon his throne which Andrew stood next to. "You just need to calm down a little. These requests are not as dire as you imagine them to be."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Andrew began to speak very quickly as he always did when flustered. "It's just hard to think that one day I will have the power of life and death over people, and that the tiniest mistake could ruin someone's life. I mean, how do you deal with that?"

"By not making a mistake," Richard laughed. "Just remember, if you do the right thing, no matter what happens as a result, it will not be a mistake. Just think what is best for the majority, and but do not be afraid to help the minority. Only when we work together can we have a harmonious society. Everyone is equal, despite age, race, gender, or sexuality. Try your best and be selfless, and above all… Take a deep breath, you're turning blue."

It was then that Andrew realised he had been holding his breath.

"Sorry," the Lignumi Prince took a deep breath.

"Better?" Richard asked.

"Yes," Andrew nodded.

"Alright," Richard turned back to face the entrance of the throne room. "The next citizen may enter."

Elton entered with a lanky man in his late forties. The man bowed, introduced himself as Samson, and then launched into a story about how his village was being regularly attacked by a gang of bandits. The issue was that the nearest regiment was more than a day's ride away, and there was no set schedule as to when the attacks happened.

"And so, as Village Leader, I have bravely come to seek the help of our Magnificent King," Samson humbly bowed. "Please help my people."

"Of course I will, but the question is how," Richard smiled. He turned to his son, "Prince Andrew? What are your thoughts?"

"Well, that's simple," Andrew laughed. "Send in a regiment to help."

"Oh, but Andrew," Richard shook his head, "where do you suggest we get a regiment?"

"Make one," Andrew laughed as if his father had asked him what one plus one equalled.

"But Andrew, if you remember from the recent military statistics, we do not have enough soldiers to make an entirely new regiment," Richard chided his son. "So, what else could we do?"

Andrew thought hard, "Recruit more soldiers?"

Richard considered it, "Interesting, but do we have enough data to figure out if this merits a recruitment drive?"

Andrew looked at his Father carefully.

"… Yes?"

"No," Richard said. The King then turned to the Metallite Prince observing them, "Prince Rayhan. Any thoughts? How would Metallum deal with this situation?"

Rayhan smirked, "With Sword and Salt."

"With sword and s- I'm sorry, what?" Richard looked terribly confused.

"Come now, King Richard," Rayhan laughed. "With Sword and Salt. It's Metallum's Royal Motto."

"I don't see how that's relevant to this situation," Richard said.

"It's my advice," Rayhan stood up straight and walked towards the group. "In Metallum, we are a proud people; we protect our land with the metal of our swords, and the salt of our sweat. If a subject came to me in Metallum and asked me what to do in this situation, I would tell him to be a man and have his people protect what is theirs."

"But as Samson has clearly told us, they have done everything they can to protect their homes, yet it is still not enough. What do you say of that?"

Rayhan shrugged, "Then maybe the Winds do not favor their success. Haven't you ever heard of survival of the fittest?"

It took Richard a few minutes to collect himself, as he gripped the arms of his throne tightly, once again going white knuckled thanks to the Prince. His temples throbbed as the silent battle raging inside Richard was presented clearly on his face. Andrew was honestly surprised that his Father didn't punch the Prince.

"Alright," Richard struggled to remain calm, and only prayed that Samson hadn't gotten the wrong impression about himself, and that he would never condone Prince Rayhan's suggestion. "Andrew. What- What was I saying again?"

"Something about military data," Andrew asked, looking warily between Rayhan and his Father. "I suppose we should send for some?"

"Correct," Richard nodded, showing more pride in his son than usual. Even if he sometimes worried about Andrew's abilities as a King, he could safely say that Andrew would be much better than Rayhan. "Elton, could you please bring me the most recent report on our military data?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Elton bowed, and he exited the room to retrieve the requested papers.

Andrew couldn't help but notice that at the words "military data" Rayhan had perked up a little too much for his liking.

During the Knight's absence, Richard had a chair brought in for Samson, and while they waited, the two chatted calmly about the village in question.

"I've heard that Abies is such a beautiful village," Richard told Samson. "My wife's mother actually came from there."

"You mean the Star, Maeveen?" Samson asked, his eyes widening fearfully.

"No, no, Elizabeth's birth mother, Abigail Hareheart. She passed away in childbirth, but she came from Abies," Richard corrected. "But that was before she met Josiah Dragonstone, obviously. After they married, Abigail moved to her husband's home of Petram."

"Oh yes, Abigail!" Samson beamed. "Forgive me, I did not realise that she was the Queen's mother. Abigail Hareheart was a playmate of my mother during childhood. Have you ever been to our village?"

"Not personally, but my wife had. I would like to visit someday, though."

"We would welcome you with open arms, my King. Abies is just out of a dream in May when all is in bloom."

"Then perhaps I shall make some preparations."

"If we solve this bandit problem," Samson cheekily winked at the King.

"That, I promise you," Richard laughed. "Oh, Elton, you're back. Andrew, come, look these documents over with me."

Andrew did his best to pay attention to the documents that Elton laid out in front of them, but he couldn't stop noticing that Rayhan was doing his best to look over the documents too.

"_I hope he doesn't have a good memory," _Andrew frowned.

Rayhan smiled at the papers, and locked the data in his mind.

"So, Andrew," Richard's voice broke in, surprising Andrew. "Does the town of Abies merit creating an entirely new regiment?"

"Uh," Andrew glanced at the document in front of him. "No. The village and surrounding area are too sparsely populated."

"Correct," Richard nodded. "So what should we do?"

"Well," Andrew glanced over at the grand map of Elementum that hung on the wall. "Alnus is the closest major city. Perhaps we should take some soldiers from there?"

"But Andrew, the troops stationed in Alnus most also look after Bratus and the areas surrounding the two cities. It's a very populated area."

"Alright, what about Salix?"

"They look after Ramus. Again, the area is too populated," Richard shook his head. "Come on, I know you can do this."

"Um…" Andrew stared hard at the grand map, begging the answer to present itself. "Could we call in the Rangers?"

The Rangers were the Terran military group that protected the Callis Pass. It was the only way through the great mountain ridge that started just north of the Lignumi-Terran border, and ran south-west all the way to a few miles south of the Ignisian-Terran border. They were an elite group of soldiers, because as the important mountain passage was almost impossible to cross, and completely impenetrable in or out from the sides, it made for perfect bandit country.

"The Rangers are under the jurisdiction of Terra," Richard pointed out. "Requiring their services would mean that this was an international situation. Is it?"

Andrew sighed, "No."

"Then what do we do?" Richard pushed. "Come on, Andrew, I know you can do this."

"But I don't know the answer!" Andrew exclaimed, finally losing his temper. "Please, Dad, can't you just help me?"

A very dark look crossed over the King's features, "I'm not always going to be here to help you, Andrew."

"But why can't you help me _now_?"

Richard looked hard at his son, "Sub Umbra Floreo. Tell me what that means."

"Dad."

"What does it mean?"

Andrew sighed, "It means: Under the Shade, I Flourish. It's our country's motto."

"And it entails?" Richard pushed.

"Improvement comes under difficult circumstances." Andrew took a deep breath. "Please, Dad, just help me."

Richard sighed deeply, "Pinus."

"Pinus?" Andrew frowned. The Prince flipped a few pages and found the file on the city of Pinus. Quickly scanning over the information (along with Rayhan), the answer quickly jumped out at Andrew. "There is a surplus of troops in Pinus in relation to its density."

"There we are," Richard smiled. "So what should we do?"

"We should send some of those surplus troops and station them in Abies to deal with the situation," Andrew grinned feeling satisfied at finally getting it right. "Maybe, fifteen soldiers?"

"Fifteen sounds about right," Richard nodded. "Elton, send a missive to Colonel David and have him send Sergeant Hannah and fourteen others to the village of Abies. Samson, you and your people should be ready for their arrival in no less than a fortnight."

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty," Samson bowed deeply. "My people will be thrilled. We will do whatever we can to repay you."

"Well, you can pay me back by welcoming my family into your village this May," Richard smiled. "You have some claims to prove to me. Would the first week of the month do?"

"We'll eagerly await your arrival."

After the final arrangements were made, Elton lead out Samson and went to fetch the next citizen.

"I think I too will head out," Rayhan announced. "I'm expecting a letter from my father today. It's been a pleasure. Your Majesty. Highness."

"Your Highness," Richard said and the three Royals bowed to each other before the Prince left the room.

Andrew couldn't help but feel something sick in his stomach, and vaguely wondered why Rayhan had been so interested in the military data of Lignum.

"So…" Andrew slowly turned to his father. "How did I do?"

Richard sighed, "You still have a long way to go. Longer than I expected."

"I'm sorry."

"All I ask is that you think. I'm not always going to be here to hold your hand, and then you'll need to be able to find the answers on your own."

Andrew could say nothing more, and as the rest of the audiences stretched on, he could only think one thing.

"_Why was Rayhan so interested in our data?"_

* * *

><p><em>September 25, 745 A.C.<em>

_Captain Farid,_

_As Captain of my personal company, I trust you know that this communication will remain confidential upon pain of death._

_I hope the letters I have sent you during my cousin's and my journey from Chalybs to Silvus, have already arrived, and as such you are informed of my plan to work with the Fallen Star Maeveen, in a backup alliance should these dealings with Lignum prove unsuccessful. It seems my charms are so far not working on Princess Odette, and thus to get anywhere with this girl, I will have to work on preying on her unrealistic fantasies involving Prince Charming archetypes, as well as her insecurities in self-identity, her entitlement issues, and the weakness she clearly presents in regards to her family. A few careful strokes of the tongue and a couple of grand gestures, and I can confidently predict that she'll fall for me. She fails to realize it, but having sacrificed dealings with the opposite sex in favour of nurturing her siblings has made her quite naïve in regards to the nature of men, and thus a vulnerable and easy target._

_I admit, I fail to see exactly what Queen Asteria meant by calling Odette the most beautiful woman she would ever meet. I can name over a dozen Metallite girls, some of which are even maids, who are more desirable than this spoiled Princess. However, I do find this distain for me to be somewhat alluring, and though I doubt I revel in the pleasure of breaking down a woman, as much as Jamal (I do wonder about him sometimes), I am starting to see a side to it._

_As for my intentions with Maeveen, we shall see how this Lignumi plays out, but you and your company should be ready to move any day. I have located a servant who will loosen her tongue for a few coins (and a little something else, if you understand my meaning), and I have heard from her that Maeveen has been spotted in Succendens. You will send a few men to find the Star's exact location, and then send me a coded letter detailing her coordinates. _

_You are not to approach her, nor to reveal any of the military data I have enclosed in the further pages of this letter. If we must deal with the Star, it will be an audience involving only Jamal and I. I send you the following data as an aide to help formulate an attack plan, should it become necessary. I expect that one will be prepared by the time I make contact with Maeveen. Jamal and I plan to stay until at the very least, the Festival of Mina, which takes place on October 16. Plan accordingly._

_Proceed with your orders, and stand ready for further communications._

_May the Winds Bless Your Dealings,_

_His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Rayhan Pythonsword_

* * *

><p>"Aileen!"<p>

The handmaiden froze at the unfamiliar voice that called down the hall. Frowning, the young girl turned to see Prince Jamal walking toward her at the leisurely pace, yet there was something urgent in his steps.

The Prince and maid were in the corridor that housed the servants, which was mainly deserted during the day as the employees were busy about their tasks, and their rest periods always took place after lunch had been served to the Royal Family. Aileen's schedule differed from that norm as she, as well as two girls by the names of Hannah and Beth that served as the handmaidens of Princesses Lindsey and Jane respectfully, naturally had their rest periods worked around the schedules of the Princesses.

Aileen had been looking forward to spending her free hour on a simple lunch and continuing on with her reading. As her schedule was so packed with work, Aileen had only really been able to read the book during her breaks. The day's work had made her so exhausted that more often than not, when night released her from duty, she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow. So to be held up on her break by a Prince of Metallum was not a welcome action.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Aileen pleasantly smiled, taking a quick look around the door lined corridor, searching for someone hidden behind one of the narrow tree trunk pillars. Even with Richard's strict rules against abusing wait staff, it was second nature for a maid to make sure she wasn't alone with a man.

Sadly, she found herself alone with the Prince.

"Please," Jamal smiled. "You don't have to call me by that stuffy title. I'm just barely a Prince, and I probably will never be King, so you calling me Highness doesn't really make sense."

"So you would prefer I call you by your given name?" Aileen asked.

"What?" Jamal looked affronted by the idea. "No, you should call me My Lord. I'm the future Lord of Chalybs."

"Of course," Aileen gave a slight curtsey trying to keep the irritation from her countenance; she hated when people wasted time when she was on her break. "Forgive me, My Lord. How might I help you, My Lord?"

"I'm looking for some form of…" Jamal paused. "_Entertainment. _Maybe you could help me?"

Aileen did not like that pause.

"Well," She shifted nervously, her mind racing to take in every tiny detail of the situation: the proximity of the doors, if anyone passed by the hall, what he said, what she said, their actions, their meanings, anything that might signal something had gone wrong, and how to escape if so. Aileen had to be careful not to let him have power in this situation, "I am actually just heading off for a break from my work, but I could stay and recommend something, if you'll vouch for why I overran my break."

"Of course," Jamal smiled.

Aileen tried not to swallow, "Um… What about a book? That's what I was off to do, and our library is well stocked with many splendid titles."

"You read?"

"Of course," Aileen frowned and crossed her arms in front of her. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just haven't met a lot of wait staff that can read."

"I think you'll find that both Lignum's wait staff can most assuredly read."

"Both?" Jamal asked taking a step forward which Aileen naturally matched with a step back.

Aileen winced at the question, "Both what?"

"You said both, but only mentioned one thing," Jamal took another step forward, and Aileen one back. "What's the other thing you think I'll find?"

"I think you'll find," Aileen's voice wavered as Jamal took a third step and the maid found her back to the wall. She had to find a way out, "I'm not just a regular maid."

Jamal put his right hand on the wall, directly above her shoulder, and leaned in so close that she could feel his breath.

"I'm sure you're not," He gave a husky whisper.

Aileen shuddered and too quick for him to stop her, ducked under his arm and rounded to his other side so he no longer trapped her.

"Books," it was the only word Aileen could manage as she tried not to shake with fear. "My recommendation is for you… to go read a book."

Jamal frowned but Aileen could see his smug satisfaction about scaring her, "Forgive me, is something wrong?"

"My Lord," Aileen wanted to look away, but was too afraid what he might do if she did, "are you aware of the Palace rules involving conduct towards wait staff?"

"No."

"Well… They clearly state that… Well, you can't… You know… _Handle _the maids. Even if they like it."

"And do you like it?" Jamal took a step forward, but Aileen had learned enough to take a step to the side rather than risk getting backed against the wall again.

"To be honest?" Aileen's voice shook.

Aileen was more nervous than she had ever been since coming to live in the castle. She never had to worry about anyone making an advance on her, especially since she was the handmaiden of who was widely considered to be the favorite Princess. Regardless of her Mistress, everyone respected the conduct rules and knew how serious Richard was to those who broke them. The last time someone had broken the rules, it was a Lord who had harassed a maid.

No one was quite sure what happened to him, but Richard was furious, and the next morning the Lord was gone and the election for a new one was underway.

No one had heard from the violator again.

"I'm waiting for your answer," Jamal smirked, clearly enjoying watching her struggle.

"Forgive me, My Lord," Aileen nervously answered. She briefly considered lying, but she worried that might do more harm than good. "But no. I _don't _ like it."

"Well," Jamal chuckled. "Then I guess I'll have to see what you do like."

Aileen swallowed, readying herself to bolt from the hall as fast as she could.

"Enjoy your book," Jamal gave a slight nod and surprised the girl by walking out of the hall.

He knew very well how to play the game of Cat and Mouse, and exactly what moment to push, and which to withdraw.

Jamal chuckled to himself, _"This is going to be fun."_

* * *

><p>Aileen naturally told Sarah and Richard of the incident, and Richard immediately ordered Elton to have a guard in Aileen's vicinity at all times, but for the next two days, Aileen found Jamal almost constantly over her shoulder.<p>

At first the incidents seemed to be harmless accidents: a brush against her in a tight hallway, a compliment that bordered just on the edge of inappropriate, and so forth. It was clear to everyone these were no accidents, but Aileen, Sarah, Richard, and even Elton found themselves quite helpless, because although Jamal crossed the line, he found the perfect loopholes to explain himself out of trouble. And if she asked him to stop? Well, he would certainly stop and never do it again.

But only _exactly _what she had requested of him.

_Don't pin me against the wall_, allowed him to trap her against a wall even if he didn't touch her.

_Don't touch me_, allowed him to get extremely close that she could feel his breath, but not his skin.

_Don't compliment me_, allowed for compliments on the results of her work, or the clothes she wore.

It drove everyone insane, but no matter how much the girls protested, Richard struggled to find a way to protect Aileen.

Then on the third day it happened: while passing behind Aileen, Jamal's hand traveled lower than her waist.

Aileen had instantly told Richard, and it had only been King William who stopped Richard from throwing out the guests of honour, reminding him of his obligation to entertain the Princes until the Festival. Richard had grudgingly given the boys a second chance, with an appropriate, delicately worded warning that only came from years of practising public and political relations.

"If you touch that, or any other, girl in this palace again, I will kick you so hard out of my kingdom that your ass will land on your father's doorstep."

But it wasn't enough for Sarah.

She had finally snapped.

* * *

><p>"You wanted to see me?" Rayhan called to the Princess as he sauntered down the archery field, located on the training lawn behind the Palace. Not far from them Rayhan observed in slight confusion as the stableman, Marshall, of all people, instructed the younger two Princesses on crossbow.<p>

"Yes," Sarah loosened the arrow from her bow, and Rayhan observed in amusement as the arrow fell far from the target and almost skewered the horse handler and the younger Princesses.

"Sorry!" Sarah called, wincing as Marshall and her sisters clearly burst out laughing from the other end of the field. She muttered to herself, "Why am I even allowed to hold this weapon?"

"You're not that bad," Rayhan smirked. "After all, isn't hitting people with arrows the point of archery?"

The Princess turned to face him, and it was clear that she was not amused.

"Sorry," Rayhan lowered his head respectfully.

Sarah rolled her eyes and faced back to the target, sending another shot and once again, horribly missing, "I hate archery."

"Why do you do it if you hate it?" Rayhan asked.

"It's alright," Sarah sighed lowering her bow as dejection coursed through her form. She turned to the Prince, "You don't have to be polite and pretend to care about this."

"Try me," Rayhan smiled, and Sarah could have sworn it was genuine.

Sarah hesitated, and glanced back to her sisters, noticing that although Marshall continued to teach them, he was also keeping an eye on Sarah and Rayhan.

"My father wants me to learn self-defence," Sarah said.

"As he should," Rayhan nodded. "Go on."

"Like we told you at your welcoming dinner, my mother joined a gang of outlaws when Maeveen had Ormr transform King William into a bear, and took over the throne of Terra," Sarah explained. "They called themselves Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."

"Wait," Rayhan frowned, "I thought that King William's wife was Snow White."

"She was. William had actually met Snow as a child, and my mother grew up with William, who once mentioned the name in passing, so she used it as an alias during her hiding, which actually led to some difficulties for the real Snow, but that's a long story that has nothing to do with this."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with archery?"

"The Dwarves are still friends of my family, and each are skilled in one form of weaponry, so my father decided to have each try to train me and see what weapon stuck. That's why Marshall's over there teaching Talia and Harley," Sarah nodded toward Lindsey and Jane. "Father decided I worked best with Lothar, who is now the Head Archer for the Pinus Division."

Rayhan had to stop himself from laughing and breaking his cover of being remotely interested in Odette's archery woes.

"_I can't believe she just thoughtlessly volunteered that information to me," _Rayhan thought. _"I should have just asked _her _for their military secrets."_

"I shouldn't have said that," Sarah frowned, realising her error, but there was nothing she could do to take it back.

"Don't worry," Rayhan smiled. "I won't tell. So why do you hate archery if your father thinks it's what your best at?"

"Because it's not what I'm best at," Sarah snapped, but Rayhan could tell that it wasn't at him. "It's what _he's _best at. Richard the Great Archer couldn't handle the fact that none of his kids are good at archery, so he made the weakest one train to be one."

Rayhan was silent as Sarah fumed: he could tell this was a touchy subject for Sarah and let her rage in silence taking a few steps back as she turned back to the target, practising as she fought her inner battle.

There were few things Sarah was upset at her father for, but this was the biggest one. Despite her constant objections, her father had put his foot down, and demanded that she be instructed by one of the Dwarves in some method of defense, because damn it, if he was going to see one of them in a glass coffin like their unprepared mother had once ended up in.

After failures involving fencing, crossbows, daggers, and slings, Richard insisted that archery would be the best choice for Sarah.

That didn't mean she excelled in it, in fact she was pretty terrible at archery. The choice of training in weaponry had been one of the few that Richard made for his daughter. If it had been up to Sarah, she would ended defense training with the basic fist fighting moves Elton had taught her. But Richard had forced his daughter into archery, despite her protests that she had preferred the dagger fighting. Richard maintained that she only liked daggers because Henry, her favorite Dwarf, had been the one teaching her, but Sarah had countered with the fact that Richard wanted her to learn archery because it was his preferred choice of weaponry, and Andrew had opted for traditional fencing from the Dwarf Gregory. The blow to Richard had become worse when Lindsey and Jane chose the crossbow, Eric chose double sword fencing, Caye the sling, Cayden advanced hand to hand combat, and Avery chose daggers.

So, Richard pushed Sarah into archery, and eventually, she just accepted her fate, reasoning she might need weapons training to somehow protect her siblings one day.

Richard tried to impress her by teaching her personally, while Lothar was out of Silvus, which he was more often than not. Her father even gave Sarah her own fighting attire for her fifteenth birthday. Unlike her brothers, Andrew and Eric, who had expressed interest in military involvement, it was of course considered unnecessary for Sarah to own her own suit of armor, but Richard had still supplied her with a magnificent ensemble.

It was a forest green tunic, embroidered with the bronze oak symbol that served as Lignum's national emblem. Over the tunic was a light shirt of mail that was also bronze in colour, and she wore dark brown pants, archery practice being one of the few times she did not wear an outfit with a skirt which was her own personal preference. Her boots were made of the same brown leather as the quiver strapped on her back, the finger tab on her right hand, and the bracer on her left arm. Her hair was tied back, and she did have a relatively simple bronze mask that she could wear to protect her face, were she ever actually in battle. The mask lay carelessly on the grass by her feet as she practised. It was the image of a warrior, and one that was rarely seen by anyone. But as arrow after arrow carelessly missed the target, it wasn't the image of a good warrior.

Yes, Sarah Swanheart was a protector, but she was_ never_ a soldier.

"I just wish I could get a hang on this stupid archery thing," Sarah finally said.

"Perhaps I could lend a hand?" Rayhan offered.

Sarah turned and raised a brow at him, "Really?"

"Of course. Your outfit fits the look of a soldier, but let's see how you measure up to the warriors of Metallum," Rayhan walked forward and came to a stop in front of the Princess.

Sarah bit her lip as if it was holding in some inappropriate comment, "And how do I measure up?"

"To be honest?" The Prince looked her up and down, but he was careful not to linger too long, less he incur her wrath again. "Pitifully. Have you ever seriously fought before?"

"Of course not," Sarah rolled her eyes as she turned strung her next shot. She attempted to remember all the advice of Lothar and Richard, shutting one eye tight, taking her time to aim as she stressed the bowstring. "The Lignumi are peaceful people who never go on the offense. Yes we have an army, but unlike your country we don't have a pressing need for every citizen to be one hundred percent on the lookout, ready to fight at any minute. After all, we haven't been at war since Metallum attempted to invade us three hundred years ago."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Rayhan's tone was offhanded as he watched Sarah's shot sail past the target. "You know, I think I know what your problem with this is."

"Oh really?" Sarah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And what are they, mighty archery master?"

Rayhan frowned and crossed his arms in front of him, "Do you have any respect?"

The question caught Sarah off-guard, "I'm sorry?"

"You stand around insulting me and judging me even after you've agreed to wipe the slate clean. So what issue do you have with me?"

"Well, your cousin-"

"Not with my cousin," Rayhan was firm and direct with the Princess. "With _me. _What have I done in the past three days to have insulted you once more?"

Sarah lowered her eyes guiltily, "Well… I guess nothing _you've _done, but Jamal-"

"Is driving me insane just as much as you," Rayhan cut off. "He's jeopardizing my chances of making an alliance with your father, which is something I fully intend on doing."

"Then why haven't you stopped him?" Sarah shot.

"You don't think I've tried?" Rayhan laughed. "My family has been trying for years. We've known for a long time that there's something wrong with that boy. He enjoys the misery and pain of others. We've known that ever since his sister found him pulling the wings off a still living bird."

Sarah looked at the Prince in horror.

"Then why would you bring him?" She demanded.

"Odette," Rayhan sighed and Sarah could see sadness and guilt overtake him, "I haven't told anyone this yet, but I'm under a lot of stress right now. My Dad… Well he's dying."

Sarah's face fell, "Your Father?"

"Yes," Rayhan confirmed with the perfect amount of grief and disliking discussion of the subject. He gleefully knew he had struck a chord with Odette. She may be bitter about the archery, but everyone knew that she loved her father more than anyone else in the world. He continued hesitantly, looking away from her, even managing to produce a single tear to shine in his eye for dramatic effect, "There's something wrong with his colon, and he's not going to be around much longer. Being the Crown Prince, this naturally brings a lot of complications into my life."

"Of course," Sarah nodded, putting her hand on his shoulder sympathetically.

"I brought Jamal because I didn't know how you all would react to Adara, and since the doctors tell me that my father could pass any day now, I wanted Dad to at least have his sister and one of his sons by his side." Rayhan bravely wiped the tear away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so emotional."

Sarah took a deep breath, finally understanding the stress, "I get it, and I really am sorry about your father."

"It's okay," Rayhan took a deep breath. "You know, I think that whole possibility of losing my father is why I've been so aggressive towards you."

"How so?" Sarah frowned.

"You see, it means I'm closer to being crowned king, and Metallites don't like seeing their monarch without a spouse, so I've had all this pressure to marry. Then I hear that Lignum, the place where the prophesized most beautiful woman lives, wants me to visit, and I suddenly got all of this pushing at me, encouraging me to go after you, because what a prize you'd be. But seeing you and meeting you, I now can break from that insanity and remember that you're not a prize. You're a beautiful woman on more levels than just physicality, and I haven't treated you and your feelings with the respect you deserve, and I'm really sorry about that."

Sarah was speechless, he had just said the exact words she had needed to hear ever since their failed introduction.

"It's alright," Sarah whispered.

"No," Rayhan shook his head, "it's not. I mean, I should have been working towards respecting _everything _about you and your kingdom, even your wait staff, and especially your personal handmaiden. She must mean something to you."

"She really does," Sarah smiled. "She's my best friend, and practically my sister."

"Tell me about it."

"We met only a year after my mother passed away. Queen Snow had come to visit us, and she and Father took us children to the market. By then, I had fully accepted my role as mother to my siblings, and had personally taken charge of watching the children while the adults were occupied." Sarah paused and laughed to herself, "In hindsight, I realise that Queen Snow and Father had been merely humoring me at the time, but I felt that the burden of keeping track of my siblings fell solely on me. Even with Queen Snow, Father, myself, and half the castle guard watching, somehow we lost Talia. As everyone searched, they sealed the gates of the market to make sure no one walked out with her. I eventually spotted her playing on the edge of a fountain in the market square. The problem was, I was on the other side of the square, and even running as fast as I could, I couldn't reach her in time."

"So?" Rayhan asked. "That doesn't sound too risky."

"She was only three, and couldn't swim."

"Oh."

"So my sister starts to teeter into the fountain, and I run as fast as I possibly can, but I couldn't reach her. But just as Talia starts to fall, this girl standing by the fountain, grabs her and pulls her down to safety. I quickly got to the girl and my sister, and five minutes later Queen Snow, Elton, and Father found the three of us hugging and crying and thanking the girl profusely."

"Let me guess, the girl was Aileen?"

Sarah nodded, "It turned out Aileen belonged to the orphanage in the market city. Her parents were killed in some accident that Aileen was too young to remember. In thanks, Father obtained the permission of the matron of the orphanage and invited her to the castle to play with us. Well we became best friends almost instantly, and playdates with Aileen became almost routine. When she turned thirteen, Father decided that she was close enough to the family that we might as well consider her one of our own, and had Aileen adopted by The Crown as a Ward of Lignum, and she became my handmaiden. She's the only person outside of my family that I really trust."

"She really does sound special," Rayhan smiled. "I promise you, Odette, I'm going try to do a better job of getting Jamal to leave your handmaiden alone… And try to stop him from going after your sister."

"My sister?" Sarah frowned, glancing down the lawn at Jane and Lindsey.

"Talia," Rayhan winced; he was certain Odette had caught on to Jamal's intentions with Talia, and he certainly didn't want to bring them up if she didn't. "Jamal considered the idea of a more concrete alliance between Metallum and Lignum, and he thought he would let me try to win you over and he'd go after the second sister."

"Oh," Sarah looked shocked. "Well, yes, please keep him away from my sister."

"Don't worry, I'll just remind him that she's yet to have her blood, and therefore is not even remotely eligible in any capacity."

"Thank you." Sarah smiled.

Maybe she really had been wrong about Rayhan. He seemed so polite, and genuinely interested in her. She really understood the pressures he was facing with the impending death of his father. Taking over a country, having to marry and produce an heir, attempting to make an alliance that had long been violently broken due to the actions of his country. It all made sense.

She had agreed to give him a clean slate, and now she was more than comfortable to do so.

"So," Sarah put a hand on her hip and cocking her head somewhat flirtatiously. "You said you could help me with my archery?"

"I could," Rayhan smiled. "On one condition."

"And what's that?"

"Look," Rayhan said, "I'm not going to guarantee that I could get you to hit the center, but I think I can get you to hit at least the outer ring. Now, if I can, I want you to agree to go on an outing with me tomorrow. Just you, me, and whatever escort you feel comfortable with. Do we have a deal?"

Sarah bit her lip, looking over Rayhan. He seemed genuine in everything he had said to her, and she wanted to trust him, but she had been let down by him before. Did she really want to risk that again.

But then she remembered the lonely image of spinsterhood she had dedicated herself to. She remembered the words of Kayla, Madeleine, and Cassandra. She remembered the hope she had felt while waiting to meet Rayhan.

She had wanted this then, but did she want it now?

"_Oh what could go wrong?" _Sarah finally gave in.

"Deal," Sarah shook Rayhan's hand and turned back to the target, her bow and an arrow in hand.

"So," Rayhan began his instruction, "As I see it, you're currently doing two things wrong. One, you're holding your bowstring for far too long after drawing, and two, you close one eye as you shoot."

"Of course I close one eye. It helps me aim better."

"Really?" Rayhan raised a brow. "Is that what Lothar told you?"

"Actually, he and Father tell me not to do it, but how can it really hurt anything?"

Rayhan considered her words, "Odette, humor me for a moment, could you close your right eye and point with your right hand to the bull's-eye?"

Handing him her bow and arrow, Sarah did as the Prince instructed.

"Now," Rayhan said, "open your right eye, close your left eye, and tell me what happens."

Sarah switched eyes and to her surprise, she was now pointing at the outer rim of the target.

"My hand moves," Sarah gaped at the target in confusion.

Rayhan gently touched her arm, signalling to her to lower it, "Your eyes deceive you. You think you've been aiming in one spot because your mind tells you something that doesn't reflect reality."

"So what do I need to do?"

"Easy, keep both eyes opens."

"But-"

"Just try it," Rayhan offered her back the bow and arrow.

Sarah sighed, "Fine."

She took her equipment back, nocked, set, lifted, and drew, but just as she was anchoring it to her chin, Rayhan suddenly yelled, "Time's up!"

Startled, Sarah accidentally shot the arrow, sending it sailing far past the target.

"What was that?" Sarah howled, turning on the Prince in a rage.

Rayhan was unphased, "You took too long."

"What do you mean I took too long?"

"You took too long to release after you drew."

"Well, I had to anchor and aim."

Rayhan chuckled, "Odette, do you know how much draw weight the average bow has?"

Sarah frowned, "What's draw weight?"

Rayhan looked taken aback, "You really didn't listen in your first lessons, did you?"

Sarah shrugged, "I was really upset with my father."

"Fair enough," Rayhan said. "The average bow's draw weight is about sixty pounds which is basically like saying, in order to draw the bow you have to hold sixty pounds. Now, even people who do weight training, like me, can't exactly hold a sixty pound object for long periods of time. And even if you can, you start to get tired after a while. The longer you hold this weight, the more your arm starts to shake and the shorter and weaker your shots are. So when you draw, your draw, anchor, and release need to be one fluid motion."

"What about aiming?" Sarah asked.

"Do your best, but aiming can come later," Rayhan answered. "Once you've got the motion down, that's when you can really start working on your aim. Now, do you want to try a shot?"

Sarah smiled and pulled another arrow from her quiver, "Let's see if we're going on an outing tomorrow.

The Princess took a deep breath and glancing over at Rayhan's encouraging look, she reminded herself to keep her eyes open as she readied herself for the shot.

"_Alright,"_ She thought. _"Let's do this."_

It came in as fluid a motion Sarah could manage.

Nock.

Sarah stared down the target.

Set.

She put her hand on the string.

Lift.

The Princess raised her bow, keeping her arm straight.

Draw.

Rayhan watched, somewhat excited as the Princess pulled back the string.

Anchor.

As quickly as possible, Sarah anchored her hand to her chin.

Release.

She let go.

Follow-through.

The arrow went sailing as her bow hand relaxed and her string hand continued to move back. There was a tense moment as the Royals waited for the arrow to end its trip, and then it stopped.

It was embedded into the outermost ring of the target.

"Yes!" Sarah screamed.

The pair laughed happily in success, and just as Rayhan turned to face the Princess, he suddenly found Odette hugging him.

"Thank you so much, Rayhan!" Sarah cried out in joy, inhibitions cast to the Winds, holding on to her hero. She didn't care about propriety or caution, or anything other than finally hitting the target, and there was _nothing _that would stop her from hugging Rayhan.

"Is everything alright here?"

Except an interruption by Marshall flanked by her sisters, who were staring at her in confusion.

"Oh, Marshall," Sarah broke apart from Rayhan who was getting the evil eye from the stableman. "Sorry, Prince Rayhan was teaching me how to better my archery. And I did! I hit the target!"

"Yes," Marshall glanced at the target. "We heard some shouting and thought we'd see what was going on. I guess everything's alright."

"It is," Sarah nodded.

"Well," Marshall frowned at Rayhan uncertainly, "if you don't need anything else-"

"Actually," Sarah glanced at the Prince and smiled, "we do."

"You do?" Lindsey asked.

"Well," Sarah hesitated, "I've agreed to go on an outing with Prince Rayhan tomorrow. Can you tell Father to arrange for a guard to be our escort? Oh, and tell him not to make it Elton."

Marshall's jaw dropped.

"_She's going on an outing with _him?" Marshall was horrified, but it certainly wasn't his place to say anything.

"Uh…" Marshall glanced at Jane and Lindsey. "Sure… I guess."

"_Richard is going to kill me."_

A very long silence occurred afterwards, no one wanting to voice their true opinion of the situation, nor knowing what to do to break the silence.

Eventually Rayhan sensed that the tension might dissipate if he bowed out.

"Well, I suppose I shall take my leave now," Rayhan said taking a bow. He turned to Sarah, "I look forward to our outing tomorrow. Meet me here noon tomorrow?"

"Of course," Sarah curtsied along with Jane and Lindsey while Marshall bowed to the Prince, who then made his departure.

"Are you insane?" Lindsey cried once Rayhan was gone.

"Talia, don't," Sarah was careful to use her sister's fake name in case there was someone hiding, who wasn't supposed to know Lindsey's true name.

Lindsey just continued, "But he's been so-"

"I know," Sarah cut off her sister. "But we've been talking, and I really think there's a better side to him. I had to give him a chance."

"Are you sure?" Jane asked nervously glancing to where Rayhan had been standing.

"I'm sure," Sarah smiled. "I really do think that I was wrong about Rayhan."

But she wasn't.


	10. Changing Courses

A/N: Ok, I'm sorry, but again things got too long and I had to split the chapter again. The next chapter will be a shorter one, and one with a lot more world building, but I'll have it up extremely soon.

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine<p>

Changing Courses

* * *

><p>"You want me to <em>what<em>?" Jamal exclaimed as he watched Rayhan pack his bag.

"I want you to leave Odette's handmaiden alone," Rayhan calmly repeated, tossing the last item into the satchel. He paused to observe everything, and with a satisfied grin he tied the bag shut, "There, Odette should be happy with this."

"I'm sorry," Jamal interrupted taking a seat on Rayhan's bed as the Crown Prince dug a light jacket out of the wardrobe, "let's go back to this handmaiden thing. Exactly _why _are you forcing me to leave the girl alone? I'm not harming anything."

Rayhan turned on his cousin with a dark look, "_Not harming anything?_ Your actions with the maid not only nearly blew my chances with Odette, but almost got us kicked out of Lignum."

"So?" Jamal rolled his eyes. "We're just going to go to Maeveen anyway."

"Shut up!" Rayhan nervously glanced at the door. "Somebody might overhear you."

"Sorry, but it's true, isn't it?"

"No, it's not."

Jamal frowned, "It's not?"

"Jamal, listen to me," Rayhan sighed, "if we go to Maeveen and help her attack Lignum, we will throw the entire world into chaos. Forget not having an alliance with Lignum, we won't have one with Terra, nor probably Ignis, not to mention we may risk a civil war if your mother or my brother disagrees with our actions. Winds know either of them could easily find soldiers to support their cause. And the Stars will certainly turn on us, if we join Maeveen, which means we'll have Asteria for an enemy. Not to mention that we definitely won't be able to trust Maeveen. It will only be a matter of time before we run out of usefulness to her and she tries to dispose of us. That's why going to her is only Plan B."

Jamal frowned, "Well, if this plan is so dangerous, then why are we doing it?"

Rayhan smirked, "Someone's going to pay if Odette says no to me."

Jamal's jaw dropped, "Are you _kidding _me? If you want her so bad, just tell Richard that he has to marry Odette to you or you'll bring Maeveen to him."

"I would much rather find out if I can have a willing wife in her, rather than a hateful one. Besides, it's not like you care what I do with Odette. You just want to go home because you hate it here."

"Well can you blame me? I mean the food is terrible, the servant girls are unwilling and unreachable with all the guards around, and these clothes you promised we'd wear?" Jamal gestured to the simple, yet elegant tunic, doublet, and leather pants ensemble he was wearing. "I mean the Winds know I don't miss wrapping my dhoti every morning, but I should be wearing a sherwani instead of this doublet, or at the very least, a kurta."

"Oh, please," Rayhan scoffed, "everyone knows you enjoyed their squirrel dishes, so don't even pretend you're not enjoying anything from this visit."

"Yes, but now you're taking anyway my enjoyment by telling me to leave the maid alone."

"If you need enjoyment, I know there's a _very _willing maid by the name of Piper, who has a loose tongue and even looser legs."

"That's not the point!" Jamal yelled. "There's no fun without a little fight."

"You will _not _ruin my chances with Odette!" Rayhan bellowed. "You _will _leave the girl alone, and you don't even _think _about going after Princess Talia either!"

"Oh, what? Now I'm suddenly not allowed to go after Talia? That whole thing was your idea to begin with."

"Jamal, you _will _obey my command, and leave the girls alone. Do you understand me?"

Jamal was silent, glaring at his cousin with a hotter intensity than he had ever given Rayhan before.

"_No one tells me no," _Jamal darkly thought. _"Not even Rayhan."_

His mind whirred, trying to figure out his next action, a way to get the girl he wanted, and wound his cousin for defying him.

Suddenly, some of Rayhan's previous words caught Jamal's attention.

"_A loose tongue?" _Jamal thought as a wicked idea began forming in his mind. _"Oh, this is going to be good."_

"Jamal?" Rayhan repeated, "Do you understand my orders?"

"Yes," Jamal finally said. "I understand your orders. Piper was the willing maid's name?"

"Yes," Rayhan nodded. He hauled the satchel over his shoulder and he turned to the door, "Now enjoy the girl, and try not to compromise my alliance while I'm gone today."

"Oh, I'll try," Jamal smirked at his cousin.

When the door clicked shut, signalling Rayhan's exit, Jamal's light smirk morphed into a grin of Cheshire proportions.

"_Well," _Jamal thought. _"Let's see exactly _how _loose this Piper's tongue is."_

* * *

><p>"Permission to speak freely, Your Highness?"<p>

Sarah smiled up at Aileen as the Princess sat at her vanity table checking over her appearance once more, "Granted, Aileen."

"You are insane?" Aileen cried.

Sarah frowned at the maid, "Now, that's not very nice."

"Oh, come on, Odette," Aileen glanced at the door of Sarah's bedroom, carefully waiting for the knock that signalled Rayhan's arrival. "He's been so here and there in his character, that I don't trust that he's genuine."

"Nor do I," Sarah replied, pulling the drape back over her mirror. She had to be careful not to leave it carelessly exposed if she was done using it. "But I don't trust _any _man that I could genuinely court without him being after my title or breaking my bond with my siblings, and I need to take a chance with someone."

"But why _him_?"

"Because he's the only man I've met whose being with me does not further his political station, nor his coffers!" Sarah snapped, shooting her maid a look. "You're supposed to be my friend Aileen. You're supposed to support my decisions and care for me, regardless of my mistakes."

"No, that's what a family member does," Aileen corrected. "A friend tells you when you're doing something stupid, and either stops you, joins you, or eggs you on. Depends on the friend really."

"And what does a _handmaiden_ do?" Sarah coldly shot.

Aileen winced, "Obeys her Mistress, without questioning or fail."

A heavy silence fell upon the room.

You could always tell the girls had gone too far when one of them brought up their status as handmaiden or princess. The fight they were having certainly had gotten serious fast, but the argument had been stewing ever since Aileen had overheard Marshall telling Richard about the upcoming outing, and Sarah had refused to tell Aileen until the maid had point blank asked her about it after breakfast that morning.

"I'm sorry," Sarah sighed, turning to debate between the two jackets laid out on the bed. One was the standard brown Lignumi design, and the other, more of a shawl of Metallite design, the colour of a pearl with fine scarlet stitching. "I should have told you about the outing."

"It's alright," Aileen gently smiled. "I'm just worried that this might be a mistake."

"I am too," Sarah admitted, "but what if it's not?"

Aileen opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off by a knock on the door.

"I guess we're about to find out," Aileen smiled as the girls glanced at the door.

"Coming!" Sarah called. She turned to Aileen, "How do I look?"

Aileen looked over the Princess' lovely outfit, "Very beautiful."

Sarah smiled and glanced at the jackets.

"I'll wear the white one," She decided.

Sarah hurriedly pulled on the shawl as she crossed to the door. Reaching it, she paused, taking a deep breath, waiting a moment to collect herself, and when she was ready, she gracefully pulled open the door to great Rayhan.

But it wasn't the Prince.

"Aunt Theresa! Uncle Henry!" Sarah cried as the familiar couple each, in turn pulled her into a hug.

"Hello, Little Cygnet," Henry chuckled as he embraced the young Princess.

The arrival of Henry and Theresa was a great surprise, but a very happy one to Sarah, because Henry was her favorite of all the Dwarves.

Henry had owned the cabin his brother Dwarves and Elizabeth, had hid in during their exile. He was a tall man of average build, black curly hair, bright green eyes, a friendly smile, yet serious countenance, amazing skills in dagger work, and lightly coppered skin from the few drops of Terran blood he possessed from generations back.

After the Dwarves had their charges dropped, Henry had settled down in the cabin with a Terran woman he had met during his exile, named Theresa, who had settled in Dalbergia, a town not far from the cabin, to escape Maeveen's reign.

There was a motherly way about Theresa with her copper complexion, long, wavy hair, more black than brown, deep sepia eyes, a moderate build being thin, but strong, a warm smile, and hands calloused from her work as a spinner, weaver, tailor, and several other clothing crafts.

Theresa had delighted in spending time with the children of the Dwarves, and she had longed to bring her own child into the world. However, five years into her marriage it was discovered that Theresa was barren, and after a long discussion, they had chosen not to adopt, preferring to just be Aunt Theresa and Uncle Henry to the children of the Dwarves, which had led to them becoming favorites of Sarah, who found a kindred spirit in them.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked, pulling out of her hug from Theresa.

"Your father invited us to come to the Festival, and we haven't seen you kids since Richard's birthday in July, so we figured it was time for a visit," Theresa explained. "How is everyone?"

"Forget everyone," Henry laughed, "how are you? A little birdie told us that you've got a boy in your life."

Sarah frowned, "Would this little birdie happen to be named Richard and told you through gritted teeth?"

"Actually it was Elton," Theresa corrected, "but the gritted teeth part was correct."

"And Richard was in the room," Henry added.

"Oh, great," Sarah crossed her arms defensively. "I guess you're here to give me a lecture on why I shouldn't go on this outing?"

"Actually, we're going with you," Theresa replied.

Sarah blinked, "What?"

"We're your escorts," Theresa said. "Elton wanted to go, but Marshall said you had specifically requested for him to not, so your father figured he's send one of the other Dwarves."

"Oh," Sarah looked away, a slight frown creasing her face. "Then I guess you're here to stop us from being less than a metre apart?"

"That's what we promised Richard," Theresa nodded.

Sarah groaned, "Why did I have to have a protective father and an army of overprotective uncles?"

"Hey, better you have lots of people looking out for you than no one," Henry smiled. He then added in a low voice, "And don't worry, I'm more than willing to turn a blind eye certain things."

"Really?" Sarah look taken aback. "Won't the others get mad?"

"Don't you worry about that," Henry waved off. "Any of them give you a hard time, and I have _plenty_ of stories about them doing much worse things. I'm _still _not convinced Andrew was conceived in wedlock."

"For the last time, Henry," Theresa groaned, "we've been over the math and it matches up."

"Just barely," Henry pointed out. "Besides, when Richard came around to that cabin when Lizzie was hiding with us, I _know _what I walked in on at least three times."

"Wait, what?" Sarah paled as her face drained of blood.

Aileen couldn't help but giggle at the Princess' shocked expression.

"Never you mind," Theresa rolled her eyes. "Anyways, tell us about this Prince. Is he handsome?"

A knock sounded through the room, and Henry smirked at the Princess, "Looks like we're about to find out."

Aileen crossed to the door, and opened it, bowing slightly as Rayhan entered the room followed by Elton, who naturally had to escort the Prince through the private wing of the Princesses of Lignum.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," Rayhan bowed to Odette, before taking a curious glance at Henry and Theresa.

Theresa leaned in to Sarah and whispered, "So, I guess the answer to my question is, yes, he is."

"Good afternoon, Rayhan," Sarah curtsied, trying to keep the blush from her cheeks. "I'd like to introduce Henry Opossumwood, and his wife, Theresa Raccoonearth. Henry was one of my mother's Dwarves."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rayhan smiled to the pair. "Those are quite some bannernames."

"Oh, those are just our legal ones," Theresa explained, "but we usually go by the honorary ones of Buildwood, to reference my husband's skill with building, and I use the name of Weavearth, because of my trade."

"Of course," Rayhan nodded. "My family often uses our honorary ones, because you can only use so many snakes and reptiles before you start getting ridiculous sounding names. In fact, my cousin, Jamal's legal bannername is Crocodilesword, so I understand."

"Henry and Theresa will be our escorts today," Sarah told the Prince.

"And Henry," Elton shot his friend a look, "remember what you promised Richard."

"Of course," Henry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "now you can go tell him that everything's under control."

Elton glared at Henry, bowing giving a bow and exiting the room.

"So," Sarah turned to Rayhan, "what did you have planned for today?"

"Actually," Rayhan smiled, "it's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Sarah raised a brow.

"Don't worry," Rayhan chuckled, reading her mind, "I received your father's approval for it last night."

"My father approve of our outing?" Sarah repeated in shock.

Rayhan grimaced, "Well, he approved of the activity; he's still not keen on me. I think he's worried I'm going to force his hand, and call on the Courtship Clause of the Hospitality Customs."

Sarah frowned, "You're not, are you?"

"Of course not," Rayhan replied. "Frankly, I find it in poor taste."

The Courtship Clause stated that an heir of any Kingdom of Elementum was allowed to call a mandatory twenty day courtship on another kingdom's heir, as long as both parties were eligible for marriage, based on whichever's kingdom's standards were lowest. It had been something used only once, created by Oliver when his daughter, and the son of Tyson, the founder of Ignis, had a bitter feud. The Kings had worried about future relations between Lignum and Ignis, so they forced their children to spend twenty days getting to know each other in a forced courtship, and although at the end of it, the two had obviously not fallen in love, they had, in fact, formed a better friendship.

"Well," Sarah smiled, "finally something we agree on."

"This outing is a success already." Rayhan offered the Princess his arm, "Shall we, Your Highness."

Sarah grinned and took the Prince's arm, "We shall."

Aileen turned to duck out the door, as the Royals intended to start off to Rayhan's mystery outing, but they hadn't even taken a step when a small frantic girl with auburn hair ran into the room.

"Aileen!" the girl exclaimed, stopping in front of the maid. "There you are. I need help!"

"Beth, what's going on?" Aileen frowned, addressing Jane's young handmaiden.

"It's Princess-" Beth caught sight of Rayhan, "Talia. She's- There's- We need- Hannah and I don't know what to do!"

"What's wrong with Talia?" Sarah asked fearfully.

Beth swallowed, "I'm not quite sure. She woke up, and there was blood-"

At the word blood, Sarah was out the door so fast she didn't even hear what Beth's next word was. All she knew was one moment she had been standing in her room, ready to have a wonderful afternoon with Rayhan, the next she had flung open the door of her middle sister's room.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" Sarah cried out, expecting to find her sister dead, dying, or covered in blood and tears.

Instead she found a very flustered Lindsey, with full body blush, avoiding Jane's eyes, as Hannah stripped the Princess' bloody bed sheets.

Lindsey looked close to tears as she saw her older sister standing before her, with Beth trailing in behind her.

"You brought-"

Rayhan entered the room.

"Odette," Lindsey finished, watching as Aileen, Theresa, and Henry piled in after the Prince.

The former two took in the scene, and gave Sarah a smile as the Eldest Princess took a breath, finally able to relax.

"But there's blood, and you're in pain," Beth frowned, confused as to why all the females, save for herself and Jane, seemed so relaxed.

"It's alright, Beth," Sarah smiled. "Talia's just entered a new stage of her life."

"What do you mean?" Jane frowned.

"Talia?" Theresa looked to the middle Princess, "Is it your course?"

Lindsey looked shyly at the floor, "I think so."

"Oh," Jane and Beth said together, finally understanding.

"Beth, take Harley to her lesson," Sarah instructed, "we'll take it from here."

"Congratulations, Talia," Theresa smiled as Beth and Jane exited the room whispering to each other excitedly, "you're one step closer to becoming a woman."

"I'm proud of you," Sarah gently laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I thought since I was such a late bloomer that you might not start so soon, but it's alright that you have."

But as she caught out the corner of her eye, the image of Rayhan, awkwardly trying to avoid appearing too interested in the scene, attempting to engage the equally awkward Henry in some small conversation, something dropped in her stomach.

"_In Metallum, a girl is eligible for marriage when she starts her first course," _Sarah remembered with horror. _"And _Jamal _is interested in Lindsey."_

"Odette?" Theresa's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" Sarah tried to keep the panic out of her voice.

"You, Henry, and the Prince can go ahead," Theresa said. She nodded to the maids, "Aileen, Hannah, and I can handle Talia. Go have your outing."

"Uh," Sarah glanced at Rayhan who was approaching her. "Of course."

"Well then," Rayhan took the Princess' arm. "Let's be off."

Rayhan tried to take a step forward, but Sarah suddenly yanked him to a halt.

"Wait!" Sarah took a deep breath, "Rayhan, please promise me that you won't tell anyone about this."

Rayhan frowned, and then his eyes widened, signalling that he understand why the Princess was so nervous.

"If you're worried about my cousin," Rayhan said in a low voice so that Lindsey didn't overhear, "I ordered him to leave Aileen and your sister alone."

"It's not just that," Sarah sighed. "When word spread through the castle when I had my first course, the months that followed were unbearable. The jokes people made, the looks people gave me, not to mention all the of the boys suddenly swarming me to make their intentions clear. I don't want her to go through that."

Rayhan smiled and carefully took her hands in his.

"Then she won't." Rayhan brought Sarah's hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her soft skin, "Now, shall we?"

Sarah smiled, "We shall."

* * *

><p>A maid with dark brown hair and a furrowed brow scrubbed hard at a stained bed sheet.<p>

"_They have got to stop letting Prince Bernard take drinks to bed," _the Maid thought as she scrubbed the juice stains out of yet another one of Caye's sheets. The Maid was of the lower ranks, and thus one of the few who wasn't entrusted with the secret of the Royal Children's real names.

She had always struggled to break into a higher position where she would have more freedom and luxury. Her best case scenario was escaping the Palace via marriage to a handsome rich suitor who would never make her do any of the hard work she so despised.

In fact, the Maid had had a shot at a position that would allow her to meet the handsome sons of the Lords and Ladies of Lignum, having been considered for the job of Princess Odette's personal handmaiden, but that stupid orphan, Aileen had stolen the title.

By the Stars, how she hated that spoiled brat.

"_Speak of the Devil," _the Maid caught sight of Aileen entering the laundry with an armful of red stained sheets.

The Laundry Matron observed the stains and then pointed to the Maid at the pre-treat section, and Aileen curtsied and walked toward the woman who hated her so much.

"I need you to deal with these sheets," Aileen placed her load onto the pile behind the Maid.

"Of course, Your Highness," the Maid mocked.

Aileen rolled her eyes; this was the Maid's usual nickname for her, and she found it best to ignore the bitter girl.

"Whoa!" the Maid took a good look at the bed sheets. "Is this _blood_?"

"Yes."

"Why do you have bloody bed sheets?"

"I'm not at the liberty to say," Aileen didn't know who she feared more if she told anyone that Lindsey had started her course: both Richard and Sarah would have her head on a platter.

I mean, they'd regret it almost instantly, but still, they'd be greatly upset.

"Well I need to know what kind of blood it is so I'm not risking catching anything," the Maid retorted.

"You're not going to catch anything."

"Do I have to get the Matron involved?" the Maid threatened, nodding to the large blonde woman overseeing the operations.

Aileen sighed; she knew the Maid wouldn't drop it, and Aileen really didn't have time for this.

"Fine," Aileen gave up, "it's menstrual blood. Now, if it pleases you, I'll be on my way."

The Maid smirked as she watched the handmaiden exit. Although, Aileen hadn't given up any specific information on whom it could be, the Maid knew enough to figure it out.

"_Aileen only deals with the Royals," _The Maid paused her work as she figured out the answer in her head._ "Harley is too young to have her course, and I cleaned Odette's sheets last week. That means our little Talia is finally a woman."_

"Piper! Get back to work!" the Matron called to her.

"Yes, Ma'am!" the Maid yelled back.

And as Piper began scrubbing Princess Talia's bloody sheets, she grinned.

"_Prince Jamal is going to be _so _happy to hear this."_

* * *

><p>If Sarah hadn't been able to hear Henry's footsteps following behind them, Sarah was sure she never would have let Rayhan lead her out of the training field, covering her eyes.<p>

They had walked for about five minutes, and Rayhan was careful to help her with any obstacles such as stones that might have caused the Princess any problems.

Finally he brought her to a stop and announced, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Sarah did as he said, and immediately gasped.

They stood in a familiar clearing not far from the castle, and sitting in the middle of it was a beautiful green blanket with a brown wicker picnic basket awaiting them.

"I had a few of the servants set it up," Rayhan lead her over to the blanket, and Henry settled against a tree at the edge of the clearing, far enough to give them some privacy but close enough to keep an eye on things. "I had them make all of your favorites."

"Shepherd's pie?" Sarah asked as Rayhan set down his bags and began unloading cutlery and dishes from it.

"Check," he smiled.

"Chocolate cake."

"Check."

"Lamb legs with blood orange relish."

"Of course. And best of all," Rayhan pulled a small container out of his bag, "I remembered how much she enjoyed shakshouka."

Sarah smiled watching as Rayhan arranged the picnic, a modest variety of dishes, albeit of five star calibre.

"And to top it off," Rayhan pulled out a small round citrus from his bag and casting the now empty satchel, aside, "an orange."

"My favorite fruit," Sarah smiled and took the proffered fruit. "How did you know?"

"I asked around," Rayhan answered, watching as she carefully peeled the skin. He arched a brow as she carelessly threw the discarded skin into the treeline, "Is there some special orange throwing custom I'm unaware of?"

"When it comes to organic waste, the Lignumi believe that it must be cast into the trees and other plants," Sarah explained. "We take so much from the earth, it's respectful to give something back so that it may prosper. No point in letting anything go to waste. Do you want some?"

Rayhan graciously accepted a section of her orange.

"It's good," he swallowed a juicy bite, the tangy fruit making his throat tingle. "I don't get to enjoy oranges very often, only when harvest comes and we get a shipment from Ignis. They're very skimpy on giving up oranges though, considering their traditions."

"Traditions?" Sarah raised a brow. "With oranges?"

"The orange tree is the only one that blooms and bears fruit at the same time," Rayhan explained. "In Ignis it represents beauty, fertility, and marriage. Every April, when the first oranges are produced, all couples who married in the last year are given one of the first harvested fruits."

"Just in time for my birthday," Sarah smiled.

Rayhan regarded the statement, "So your birthday is in April?"

"Yes. April 15th. What about yours?"

"January 6th."

"There we go," Sarah laughed. "Now we're getting to know each other."

"Does that mean I now get to know your real name?" Rayhan joked.

"If you keep giving me oranges, maybe," Sarah teased.

"Well, I don't have any more oranges, but I did bring you this."

Rayhan pulled another fruit from the pile of food. It was very light green and strangely shaped, kind of like a fat circle with a hump on top and a thick brown stem shot out of the top of the hump. The skin was slightly rough, and a light squeeze made Sarah fell how soft the flesh inside must be.

"What is it?" Sarah looked up in confusion.

"It's a pear," Rayhan answered. "I remembered you hadn't heard of them, so I pulled a few strings and had one flown via messenger falcon, to Silvus."

"You used a messenger falcon to bring me a fruit?" Sarah blushed.

"Of course," Rayhan grinned. "Go ahead, take a bite. What do you think?"

Sarah took a generous bite of the fruit, her teeth breaking through the thin skin into the juicy flesh below. As she chewed, the skin stayed generally in one piece, roughly scrapping against her teeth as the sweet, yet woody juices danced on her taste buds.

"It's delicious," she announced once she had swallowed. "Kind of woody, though."

"I thought you might get a kick out of that, coming from the tree Kingdom," Rayhan shrugged.

"We're more than just the tree kingdom," Sarah shot.

Rayhan smirked, his voice low, leaning into her as he said, "I'm sure you're so much more."

Sarah blushed, but leaned away from him.

Rayhan frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I'm still not sure of you," Sarah confessed, looking away from the Prince. "I mean, you seem some much nicer and considerate than our first night, but…"

"But what?" Rayhan asked.

Sarah sighed deeply, "Your cousin."

"Jamal," Rayhan groaned. "Of course."

"No," Sarah cut off the Prince. "For once it's not Jamal. I'm talking about the one with the scars. The one you called Fireface."

"Adara?" Rayhan frowned, pulling back from Odette back into a normal sitting position, his mind frantically searching for a clue as to why Adara would be bothering the Princess.

"You spoke of her accident and scars with such a light heart," Sarah explained, accusation lining her voice. "It's like you find the matter humorous."

"I didn't find it humorous."

"You laughed and told us how you stood and watched her burn!"

Something dark passed over Rayhan's eyes. He quickly looked away to stop Sarah from seeing the guilty secret setting in his face.

"I regret that day," Rayhan confessed.

Although Sarah wouldn't know until later that most of what he would tell her during that picnic, was a farce in the attempt to prove himself better in her eyes, that statement about Adara's accident was no lie. Until the day he died, Rayhan would regret what happened that day, though perhaps not for the reasons one would assume.

"I panicked," Rayhan's voice was distant, as if this were the first time he allowed the words to be spoken. "I could have pulled her out- I _should _have!"

Sarah frowned and gently leaned in, placing her hand on top of his, though he took no notice of it.

"When terrible things happen, some people fight, some people flee. I froze," Rayhan said. "I let her burn in that fire. I couldn't move; I couldn't make myself grab her, to save her. Now every time I see those scars, I'm reminded of my failure. My failure to save her. My failure to prove my courage under horrific circumstances. My failure to stop Jamal."

"Jamal?" Sarah whispered with confusion in her eyes.

Rayhan looked at Sarah, "Those scars are Jamal's strength. As long as he sees them, he has to power. The power to bring pain and suffering, to do terrible things, to take what he wants without consequence, to inflict injury and take pleasure from it, and the power to make his sister wriggle like a worm on a hook. She winces every time he enters a room, and she lives in hell because of him."

"Odette," Rayhan grasped Sarah's hands, "if I could go back in time and change anything in my life, I would go back and pull Adara out of that fire."

Sarah smiled, sensing the truth in his words, her heart swelling from his honesty.

"I believe you," Sarah said.

But she shouldn't have.

He was lying.


	11. Fighting Fire with Fire

A/N: I would like to apologize in advance, as this chapter have a lot of explanations of the culture and history of Metallum and at times I really start to ramble. I _am_ going to go back to fix that, as well as a lot of other things. Please see the important note at the bottom of the chapter to see the explanation about my upcoming massive edit, and how it's going to affect how long it takes to write and post the next chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter Ten<p>

Fighting Fire with Fire

* * *

><p>Adara stared at her reflection in the mirror.<p>

Her burns stood out on her face, huge, red, ugly, shiny, and textured. She gently reached up to touch them, but stopped herself, recalling the skin crawling sensation she would feel. They were hard like some foreign material had been glued to her face, like she could just peel it off and feel normal again.

It would be a lie to say she hadn't thought about it. How easy it would be to grab a knife and just cut it off, but she knew there was no perfect sheet of new skin hiding beneath the surface and that it would leave her with a bloody, life-threatening mess and even worse scars. She knew she was stuck with this for the rest of her life, to look ugly, to be a freak.

"Milady?" There was a soft knock on the door.

Adara didn't look away from her image as she called, "Come in."

Her handmaiden, Israt, entered the room and instantly curtsied, holding her arm in front of her body, bent into a C, reaching inward, and bowing her head below her elbow, as was the fashion in Metallum.

Israt glanced up at her Mistress, who had yet to release her from her bow. She instantly noticed the sorrowful look on the Princess in the reflection of the mirror, and the maid stood up.

"If you please, Milady," Israt dared to speak, and Adara turned to her in surprise. Israt's head was hung, clearly upset about something. "I'm sorry about the incident with the fireplace. Every thing's just so new here; I forgot some of my instructions. I won't make that mistake again."

"I'm sure you will," Adara bitterly swallowed. "That is, if my Mother has anything to say about it. She thinks the only way to confront this fear is head on, actually deal with fire until I'm comfortable."

Israt frowned, "And do you think it will work?"

Adara looked the maid directly an eye, something almost never done between people of their stations.

"Israt," Adara's voice was shaky as a tear threatened to slip out of her good eye, "when I see a fire, I can't breathe. I feel like I'm bearing a thousand pound weight on my chest, and I'm gasping for air that just won't come. My throat tightens and I wheeze, desperate not to die. I get dizzy, my head spins, and my vision goes black as I shake and use all of my strength to just stay upright. Does it sound like simply standing next to a fire is going to fix the problem?"

"No," Israt answered honestly.

"No, it's not," Adara looked back at herself in her mirror. "For the rest of my life, I will be afraid, ugly, and a coward."

"Hey," Israt walked over to the girl and gently placed her hands on Adara's shoulders.

She was breaking so many social rules that not only was she risking her job with these actions, but because Adara was technically a Princess, touching her and speaking to her in such a familiar tone without being invited, was risking her life.

But it didn't matter; Adara needed it.

"I know deep down, you're brave. We all are," Israt said feeling the tension in Adara's shoulders. Sensing the girl didn't like to be touched, Israt removed her hands, but still stood behind Adara. "Your fear may never disappear, but one day you'll have something that makes you strong enough to handle it, even if it's for but a moment. Just because you can handle something, doesn't mean you're no longer afraid. As for the beauty, you are a beautiful girl, just with a little more character than some people. Besides, you still have a lot of growing to do, so you'll be even more beautiful in the years to come."

"And what if I'm not?" Adara's lip trembled as she desperately tried to hold back the tears. "What if I'm ugly?"

"You won't be," Israt assured her. "There's no such thing as an ugly girl. We're all beautiful, but we've let the world tell us otherwise."

"Thank you," Adara wiped a tear away, regaining some of her composure.

"I'm sorry for touching you and speaking to you like an equal," Israt formally stated, recognizing that the situation was under control and that she had to slip back into her subservient role.

"It's alright," Adara assured her. "I give you permission to do so any time you wish."

"Thank you, Milady," Israt curtsied once more. "Now, the Lady Princess sent me to ensure you were properly dressed for the Midday Worship. So let's get you into a more formal half-sari."

So the two went about dressing Adara into her proper attire.

Having not yet begun her cycle, Adara was not allowed to wear a full sari like her mother usually did, although for a formal ceremony like the Midday Worship, Tahira rather than her restricting petticoat, she would be wearing a larger and more swirling skirt called a lehenga. A lehenga was actually always worn with a half-sari, and thus it was identified with vulnerability and innocence, which is why mature women wore them during the daily ceremonies.

Both styles of dress had the women wearing a choli, a tight-fitting blouse that may or may not be backless, but always had a low neckline and cropped high enough to expose the navel, so there was less material and made it easier to bear the desert heat. Adara had been known to pull at her choli, attempting to cover her bare stomach as her burn scars had made her feel unattractive in more than just her face.

Other than the skirts, the only real difference between a full and half sari, was simply the sari, itself. A half sari didn't actually involve a sari, but rather a stole called a voni which was tucked into the front of the lehenga, wrapped around the waist and draped over the opposite shoulder. When a girl graduated to the use of an actual sari, she was allowed style in more ways than just the traditional method always worn with vonis.

Lately, Tahira had been attempting to teach Adara in the beautiful variations of the sari, but somehow it always ended in a tangled mess, a frustrated Adara, and a coolly disappointed Tahira.

For this ceremony, Adara chose her favorite half sari: a deep crimson number tastefully covered with prominent gold embroidery bearing desert symbols, snakes, flowers, and her favorite part, a few horses near her waist. As Israt helped wrap the Princess' voni, Adara couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror. It was that outfit alone that made her feel mildly pretty as the richness of it portrayed the pampered life she was lucky enough to be born into, while at the same time, the lehenga was loose enough that she was able to ride her beloved horse, Kismet, properly.

She could pretend she was worthy of being a princess… if only for a minute.

"Keep it down, please," Adara instructed, watching as Israt tended to her hair, pulling it away from her scars. "I like it covering my face. I feel safer."

"As you wish," Israt nodded, and arranged it to cover Adara's scars.

As the Princess slid a few golden bangles on her arms, Israt observed the empty vanity table. There were none of the lovely perfumes, lotions, oils, or make up jars that was customary of a noble ranking woman to possess.

"You know," Israt hesitated, "if your mother would allow it, Adara, I think I could show you a few makeup tricks to help cover up these scars, if you wanted. I can't promise I can make them disappear, but I could probably take the focus away from them. Maybe bring out your eyes some more? You've got lovely brown eyes that I know the boys would adore."

"My daughter is still too young to be wearing makeup," a cool voice replied. "But thank you for your offer, Israt."

Israt and Adara winced, glancing at each other in recognition of the voice, before turning to see Tahira standing in the bedroom doorway, almost shining in beauteous glory.

The Lady Princess was tall with her daughter's complexion, had thick wavy raven hair, perfect curves achieved by years of rigorously disciplined eating and exercising habits, sharp grey eyes reflecting the power and pride of her station, and full naturally red lips, that were stretched into an unimpressed grimace. Her gorgeous sari was pure white with embroidery of scarlet flowers, and small corn snakes, her banner animal.

As her husband joined her side, Tahira was a frightening image that easily portrayed the idea that the girls were standing in the presence of the most powerful woman, south of the Great Desert. Even her sister-in-law, Queen Bashiyra, being of lesser blood, had to bow when Tahira entered a room.

"Mother," Adara quickly stood, and bowed with Israt. "Israt was just-"

"Have you given her permission?" Tahira cut her daughter off, fixing the maid with a terrible glare.

"Permission?" Adara frowned.

"She used your given name sans any titles," Tahira's voice was sharp, clearly ready to dismiss Israt with one word from her daughter.

"Oh," Adara glanced back at her maid, "sorry. Yes, I gave her permission to use my name, touch me, and speak to me as an equal."

"And encourage these perception issues from which you suffer?" Tahira was no less angry than she had been before Adara's confirmation. She turned to the maid, "I am sure you will not assume you have the same liberties with the rest of the household, unless individually granted?"

"Of course, Milady," Israt bowed once more. "Forgive me, I did not mean-"

"Any harm?" Tahira shot and Israt winced, taking a step back. "I'm sure you didn't, but by complying with her belief that she needs to hide this issue rather than deal with it at the root, whether it be through makeup or styling her hair in a certain way…"

At this, Tahira fixed a disapproving look at the hair hanging over the right side of Adara's face. The girl bowed her head in shame, and uneasily pulled the hair back, exposing her scars to the world.

Tahira's frown picked up ever so slightly in response, and she turned back to Israt.

"Then you harm the process of healing," Tahira finished her sentence. Her voice was calm, holding back the storm that threatened to break loose at a single wrong word. It was more frightening to Israt, than if the Lady Princess had just screamed at her. Tahira took a threatening step toward the maid, and met the Israt's eyes directly. "Let me make one thing clear-"

"Tahira," Kasim warned, ready to talk some sense into his wife, but she simply held up a hand and, recognizing his lower position, he closed his mouth.

"Israt," Tahira started again. "I fully intent on finding a way to get my daughter over these issues, and if you are unwilling to help, I can easily find a dozen others to replace you before you've even packed a bag. Do you understand me?"

Israt bowed her head like a pack dog to an alpha; she knew how to play the part of doting servant.

"Of course, Milady," Israt swept into a low bow. When Tahira signalled for her to stand, Israt took a glance at Adara, "Besides, your daughter is already infinitely more beautiful than any coloured paste could ever make her."

Adara met the maid's eyes, and she could feel the warmth and honesty in Israt's demeanour: the maid's words were genuine.

The thought of this made Adara smile ever so slightly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Israt saw the look of shock run over Kasim's face as he glanced between Israt and his smiling daughter. After a moment, he crossed his arms in front of him, grinning, overall looking very satisfied as he glanced to his wife.

Tahira nodded, a small smile catching on her face too.

"Very well," Tahira addressed the maid. "It seems as if we've made a smart choice in our daughter's handmaiden."

"I told you she needed a girl closer to age," Kasim said, nodding to his twelve year old daughter, and the seventeen year old handmaiden.

"You're right," Tahira nodded to her husband, "it certainly gives her something sisterly. Winds know she can't turn to her brother, and Zahid, a role model for her I'm willing to stand behind, visits far too rarely."

Israt glanced curiously at Adara, and the Princess nodded, answering the unspoken question.

_Do they often talk about people standing in front of them, as if they're not there?_

_Yep._

"Now, speaking of conquering fears," Tahira said, approaching her daughter, "I have a special surprise for you."

"You do?" Adara swallowed. She would be excited if her mother hadn't prefaced it with that bit about conquering fears. Dealing with her appearance was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Yes," Tahira smiled, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I have decided that I'm going to help you conquer your fear of fire today, by letting you light the incense in today's ceremony."

Adara's heart dropped.

Correction: _dealing with fire _was the last thing she wanted to do.

"L- L- Light the incense?" Adara's voice trembled, panic overtaking her. "As in all four?"

"Now, Darling," Tahira laughed, wrapping her arm around her daughter, and leading Adara toward the door, "I wouldn't push you that quickly into it. We'll start with one today, do another tomorrow, and so on until the fifth day when you get to lead the whole ceremony."

"The _whole _ceremony?" Adara squeaked, trying to root her feet into the ground, but her mother kept pushing her forward. "But that means I have to light all four, and our whole household would stare at me-"

"Well you have to learn," Tahira tittered. "When I pass away, and you go visit the Palace, being the highest female of royal blood, you will have to lead the Palace of Ferrum in not only the Midday Ceremony, but the Sunrise, and Moon Ceremonies, not to mention the New Moon Celebration."

"Daddy," Adara whimpered, glancing at her father as Tahira dragged her past Kasim, standing in the doorway.

The Lord of the Household gave his daughter a sympathetic smile. He would save her if he could, but it was Tahira's orders, and the Lady Princess severely outranked him on several levels.

Watching as the Princesses exited the room, Israt waited a minute before she would follow them to the Midday Ceremony. But before she could exit the room, Kasim put his arm across the door, halting the maid.

"Yes, My Lord?" Israt gave a considerably less involved bow than she would to the Princesses, taking into consideration Kasim's station of birth, and that of his marriage. She didn't even wait for him to signal that she could stand once more before she straightened.

"After the ceremony, I want you to come to my office," Kasim instructed. "We must review the terms of payment for your services."

"Of course," Israt tried to keep the disappointment from her face as she bowed again. "I understand my wage should be lowered as punishment for suggesting your daughter wear makeup."

Kasim raised a brow, "Actually, I was going to raise your wage."

Israt's eyes widened and she shot up straight.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're getting a raise," Kasim repeated.

"Thank you, My Lord," Israt gave a slight curtsey. "But why?"

"Because you made my daughter smile for the first time in seven months."

Israt stared at him in shock at the statement, "_Seven _months?"

"My daughter doesn't let herself find joy in many things," Kasim explained. "She punishes herself for being happy when she believes she has no right to. Those scars on her face go much deeper than the skin. The only time I ever see her smile is when Tahira's nephew comes to visit."

"Prince Zahid?"

"He's her only friend in this world, other than her horse. Now, I think, if we play our cards right, she might find one in you, too." Kasim placed a hand on the maid's shoulder, "Keep up what you're doing, Israt, and someday, it's going to take you far."

"To be honest," Israt glanced down the hall where Tahira and Adara had since disappeared, "I'd much stay here, and have Adara go far, far enough that she finds where she belongs."

"She will," Kasim smiled. "I know she will."

* * *

><p>"Enter!" Piper called, fixing her appearance as the tiny looking glass sitting on her small deskvanity/dresser. As much as Richard prided himself on the luxuries given to his servants, one had to admit that there certainly was a difference between the quarters of the lowliest maids, and those of Matron or Handmaiden ranks.

As the door swung open, Piper deeply bowed.

"Your Highness," she greeted as Jamal entered the room. "It is a pleasure."

But when Jamal opened his mouth to speak, Piper straightened herself, placed a hand on her hip, cocked her head, and stuck out her chest in the most flirtatious and coy position she could manage.

Jamal just frowned at the maid's actions, "You didn't wait for me to signal you could end you bow."

Piper blinked, thrown off her game by the sudden interruption of plan.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," Piper bowed once more, and stayed frozen, waiting for the Prince's instructions. "I was just so eager to see your handsome face."

Jamal smirked, clearly pleased by the flattery, "Alright you can straighten. Are you Piper?"

"Piper Magwood, at your service."

"Magwood?" Jamal frowned, glancing around the room, grimacing at the low standards.

"It's for Magpie," Piper explained, as Jamal's gaze fixed itself on the looking glass.

His eyes shot wide, and the Prince lunged for the mirror, quickly turning it face down on the desk.

"Well, Magwood," Jamal panted from adrenaline of the sudden action, "are you stupid or just ignorant? Here we are to discuss something in private, and you do something as fundamentally stupid as leaving a mirror uncovered. Rayhan was wrong, I can't depend on you."

"No, wait," Piper ran to block his path to the door. "I'm sorry, I won't make a mistake like that again, but you still need me. I can help you."

"Oh, really?" Jamal raised a brow. "And _why _do I need you?"

"Because you hate Aileen," Piper smirked, and seductively reached out to trace her finger over the Prince's chest. "Aileen has rejected your advances, and now everyone is telling you that you can't touch her. But you're a Prince, so _nothing_ should be forbidden, and that's why you need me. Because I hate her too."

"And why do _you _hate her?"

"Because she acts like she's a member of the Royal Family, pretending like she wasn't some orphaned scamp who happened to be in the right gutter at the right time," Piper sneered. "And everyone treats her like she's some Princess among our ranks. Princess of the servants just because she's best friends with the favored Princess. Aileen only got the position of Handmaiden because of that friendship. She had never put in a day of work in up keeping this Palace when she was given the rank."

"And let guess," Jamal chuckled was a bemused smile, "you wanted the position?"

"I was born into this life," Piper snapped. "My father was the head stableman before that stupid criminal, Marshall came along. My mother was one of the Palace Midwives, and had been the one who had suggested the caesarian section when the youngest Princess had been in distress, and although she helped saved Princess Harley's life, the servants wouldn't stop whispering about how the Queen died when the midwives couldn't get the bleeding under control. My mother resigned to keep our honour when the Queen died in childbirth, and she died of shame."

"Of shame?" Jamal raised a brow, not buying the explanation.

"Okay, it was an extreme case of the flu, but she had lost the fight in her," Piper waved off. "I cleaned dishes, scrubbed bed sheets, ruined my hands in hot water and needlework, and put my blood and sweat into this Palace. And what did Aileen do? She just flitted in here and got the good life handed to her on a platter."

"Well, as interesting as your life story is failing to be," Jamal rolled his eyes, "I fail to see how your tragic backstory is going to help me."

"Well then, I guess the new information I got this morning, involving Princess Talia, that could surely help both of us get revenge on Aileen, will be of no interest to you."

Jamal sighed, "Alright what is it."

Piper took a step back, and Jamal couldn't help but notice how few stride he would have to take to pin her down on the simple bed in the center of the room. There was no escape, save for the door, which he was successfully blocking, and a tiny window directly above the bed, high enough that one would have to claim onto said bed to reach, and regardless, it was barely the size of her hips. There was no way out.

"Now you really don't think, I'm going to give it up to you without getting anything in return?" Piper smirked.

"Well, I have a feeling that you need me to get this revenge," Jamal replied. "Otherwise you would have already proceeded with your plan."

"Prince Jamal, you underestimate me," Piper chuckled, taking another step back, when Jamal naturally met. "If I had just wanted revenge, I could easily already spread this information all over the Palace, and Aileen would be in trouble. Sure, it would less severe punishment than if I had teamed up with you, but more than enough to make me smile."

"Then what do you want?" Jamal took another step forward.

Piper didn't match the step, but still smirking, she reached out once more, and gently caressed the Prince's chest.

"I think you know," her voice was husky and there was a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

Jamal just groaned and rolled his eyes, "Please, I have no interest in a maid who comes willingly to me. There's no fun in it."

"Oh, we can have as much fun as you want, You Highness," Piper laughed. "There's no fun in the carnal acts of man and women without a little struggle. I'm not some obedient slave under the sheets. You want this; you're going to have to take it from me."

"Right, so I can get set up for assaulting a maid?"

"Please," Piper rolled her eyes. "Just because some people don't understand the kind of fun you can get while mixing pain and pleasure, doesn't mean I'm about to stab you in the back. Besides, you've been here and travelling to Lignum for a very long time now. When was the last time you had a little fun?"

The Prince looked over the girl, assessing the goods offered.

The girl was tall for a woman, but not taller than him. She had dark brown hair, it was long and straight. He could imagine it fan out beneath her on pillow. Her skin wasn't as pale as Aileen's, nor certainly Princess Odette, but it was certainly a lot lighter than the Metallite maids whom he had coupled with. Her chest was a little more generous than average, her waist could stand to lose a few inches, but her hips were very well shaped. She had more muscles in her arms and legs than he usually liked, but her feet were tiny, a feature he particularly liked. Her eyes were dark and angry under the seduction; she was a girl just as upset at the world as he was.

Certainly not the best he had ever been offered, but _very _suitable for a foreigner.

"Far too long," Jamal clenched his jaw, the battle raging inside of him. "What about my cousin? He mentioned you were willing. What exactly did you do?"

"Oh, Rayhan? It was barely anything," Piper smiled. "He wanted information from me, and I had no mutual benefit, so his arrangement with me was one of receiving pleasure purely on my end. He didn't even take off so much as a shoe."

"So, if we have an arrangement of mutual benefit," Jamal said, the wheels turning in his head, "what exactly will you do to me?"

Piper slowly trailed her hands across his chest, fingertips pressing pleasurably into his flesh, sliding her hands up his shoulders and around the back of his neck.

"Tell me what you want," she whispered.

"What I want," Jamal leaned in, his lips ghosting her hers, his voice low and silky. His slid his hand up and down her smooth, muscled arms, and whispered, "Is your information first."

Jamal pulled back from the maid, leaving Piper was a startled expression.

"You will tell me the information first," Jamal demanded, "and then he'll see what kind of fight you can put up for me."

Piper smiled, considering it.

"Alright," Piper agreed. "I'll tell you my information, but I get to tell you what to do with it, _after _you pay me back."

Jamal glanced between Piper and the bed.

"Deal."

* * *

><p>As Tahira was the daughter of a King, she had been rich enough to afford a separate room for the ceremonies. It was a room shaped like half an oval with a straight open wall capping the end, facing the east. It was perfectly positioned so that the sun's light flooded the room every morning.<p>

The entrance of the ceremony room was in the middle the side to the left of the open wall, and had four steps into the room which, like stairs, and walls, and structural feature of the house, was made of metal.

It was only after the custom of nobility making their houses entirely of metal to honour their element, was firmly established, that people realised how terrible that idea was when most of said houses were built in the desert. Of course, they were too proud to admit defeat, and the houses stood, burning in the blinding sun.

Placed in the center of room was a small table, that folded up and was kept in the shelves lining the walls of the room, where all four ceremonies' supplies were stored.

The roof had a long rectangular opening in the metal structure, so every night the Household could see the moon and the stars, and a same pulley system rigged to a tarp to cover the opening when precipitation fell. It would be opened regardless, during the ceremonies, as they were to be performed no matter what the weather was, and there were times where the Metallites would fight to light incense against a barrage of rain.

People liked to joke that it was the Stars taking their revenge, as their Kingdom of Aqua was based on the element of water.

The Kingdom of Metallum had been founded by a woman named Zayna, the most cynical and violent of Asteria's group. She had been treated the worst out of all of Asteria's companions by the dog eat dog society, the ungoverned humans formed in their struggle to survive under Celestella's rule.

She had been abused, assaulted, and cast out simply because she had no attraction to men. After one assault resulted in her becoming pregnant with her daughter, Zayna lost her faith in the justice the Stars were supposed to bring.

The Stars were the children of Yue and Yang, and the Moon and the Sun, and they had been charged by Yue, Yang, and the Four Winds to care for the humans and the world, but Zayna had felt that the Stars had failed when they allowed Celestella to take over.

So when Zayna created Metallum, despite her friendship with Asteria and Hesperus, she had forbidden her people from deluding themselves into treating the Stars like Gods, instead directing them into worshipping the Sun, Moon, and Four Winds, who had helped Asteria and the Companions into overthrowing the Tyrant.

The tradition remained to that day, and thus you would never hear a Metallite swear by the Stars, or utter the names Asteria or Hesperus as an exclamation.

So, three times a day, households all across Metallum would observe the three ceremonies: Sun, Winds, and Moon, and once a month, they would celebrate the New Moon, the time when Yue and Yang would reunite for but one night.

As Israt and Kasim entered the ceremony room, Tahira and Adara were busy arranging their tools on the table for the Ceremony of the Winds.

The mass of servants settled themselves in proper order, the highest ranking servants being the closest to the table, the rows working back to the lowliest servants at the end.

"You get to kneel behind Adara," Kasim instructed the maid.

Israt nodded and followed the Lord to the front of the room, waiting patiently as the Noble Family took their places around the table.

Tahira knelt, placing herself on the North end, no one sitting behind her, instead facing all who were assembled. She knelt with such grace, and her movements practised so that her legs flashed no bare skin. For her whole life, Adara had endured Tahira's speeches about how a proper leg never showed her legs, save in the bed chamber on the marital bed, and it was a belief Tahira followed meticulously. In fact, Adara was sure she never ever seen her mother's legs.

Kasim placed himself on the Western side, looking across to the East end, which sat empty, ceremonially left for Jamal.

Adara knelt at the Southern spot, glad that she was facing her mother, and she couldn't see anyone staring at her. She was shaking slightly, eyeing the flint and steel placed in front of Tahira, waiting to be struck. Next to the flint, were four sticks of incense, laid out neatly in front of the four translucent coloured glass vases arranged in a compass cross on the table. Each stick of incense had a small band of colour on it to match its vase.

"You'll do fine," Adara heard Israt mutter from behind her, and though the Princess didn't smile, it did make her feel a little better.

"The Winds," Tahira began, and the crowd fell silent. "These four beings are as elusive as a desert oasis. The Four Winds had helped hide the love of Yue and Yang, and when the rendezvous were discovered, the Four Winds went willingly with their friends into this unknown land. Yue entrusted them with the maintenance of this world, and for years they have watched us, helped us, and blessed us. Though in this day and age, others praise the name of Asteria for defeating the Tyrant, it was only with the help of the Four Winds that she was even able to find Celestella's kingdom, west of the Sun, and east of the Moon. For all of their blessings and accomplishment, we come to them on this noon, to give them our thanks, and appeal to them for further blessing, with our offering of scents, the sensation carried by the winds, an impossible sense without the presence of wind and intake of air."

Tahira picked up the stick of incense in front of her.

"We begin with Shui," Tahira placed the black banded incense into the black vase. "The North Wind. North is where everything begins, and there is no better place in life to go, but up, the direction of North."

Tahira picked up the flint and steel, and in the same practised movements she had done for year, she struck them with an ease of confidence and indifference over the incense. When the flint sparked, Adara couldn't help but jolt slightly, as she had done four times a day for six years, every time she saw her mother's sparks.

And today, she would have to do it herself.

The incense immediately caught fire, and soon the room was filled with smoke the scent of hydrangeas and orchids.

"Shui blesses us with the greatest gift one can receive," Tahira deeply inhaled the some, closing her eyes and letting the sweet scent overtake her body. "She gives us love, and she blesses us with the creation of life, the blessing of fertility. So we provide this offering of hydrangea, representing love, and orchid in representation of fertility, to thank Shui for her blessing, and to ask for the continuation of her gifts."

"Shui, protect us, and bless us," the audience chanted.

"_One down, two to go," _Adara nervously eyed the final incense as her mother blew it out.

Tahira stood, taking the flint and steel with her, and walked over to the empty Eastern spot where Jamal usually sat. Had he been there, it would have been his duty to hand the incense to his mother, but with his absence, Tahira merely took the stick herself and placed it into the green vase.

"Next comes Mu," Tahira continued. "The Eastern Wind is one of coveted material, and though not necessary for physical survival, it is what makes all dealings possible, and life worth living. For he gives us wealth and comfort."

Tahira struck the flint again, and Adara clenched her hand into a fist, digging her fingernails into her palms.

"We light an incense of hibiscus and peony," Tahira said as the scent filled the room. "Hibiscus represents fame and riches, while peony represents much the same with fame and wealth. May we continue to be blessed as fickle Mu's favourites, and may he turn his gaze unto the misfortunate poor."

"Mu, protect us, and bless us," the audience chanted.

"_One more," _Adara watched as Tahira blew out the incense and crossed all the way back around the table to her husband on the opposite end.

Whenever Tahira performed any of the ceremonies, she was dead serious, never cracking the slightest of frowns, but every now at then, Adara would be treated to a testament to her parents' marriage for love, when Kasim would try to trick his wife into losing her composure mid-ceremony.

On this day, Tahira reached out her hand for Kasim to hand her the white banded incense, but instead of handing her the stick, he quickly grabbed her hand, pulled it forward, and kissed the inside of her wrist.

He looked up at her with a smirk, and fighting to keep a smile from her face, Tahira gently pushed his head away, pulled her hand out of his grasp, and pointed at the incense, which he handed to her.

"Jin comes next," Tahira announced, placing the stick in the white vase and lighting it. "The West Wind maintains all life with her selfless blessing of nourishment and health. For her we offer the scents of chrysanthemum for curing illness, and peach for long life. We ask that Jin maintain our health, keep our stomachs full, and in a special request, we beg of her that she heal my brother, the King, was these blood clots he suffers, and give him long life."

"Jin, protect us, and bless us," the audience chanted. "Jin, bless King Makeen, may he live long, and heal him of his illness."

Tahira bent over the incense and blew it out. Her eye flittered up, and met those fearful ones of her daughter.

Adara swallowed; it was time.

"Today, we will have a slight change of plans," Tahira announced to the crowd, and though they were clearly confused, they knew better than to mutter among themselves during a Ceremony. "Today, my daughter, Lady Adara, shall light the incense, and lead us in the blessing of Huo. Adara?"

Adara shakily stood, reaching out to take the flint and steel offered her.

"Take a deep breath," Tahira whispered, handing her daughter the red banded incense. "Turn to face them, look confidant, and speak loudly. The sparks will be there for but a minute. There is no reason to be afraid."

"Yes, Mother," Adara bowed her head, and turned to face the audience as her mother went to kneel next to Kasim.

In that moment, it was not the judgemental eyes, hundreds of which pointed at her, assessing the girl, and gawking at her scars, that Adara was afraid of. It was the flint and steel, heavy in her left hand that terrified her very soul.

"H- Huo," Adara struggled to keep a straight face, and control the quiver of her voice.

It was with horror that Adara realised she could not recall what she was supposed to say, her mind blank of anything but the forthcoming fire. Stalling for time, she placed the incense in the vase, struggling to come up with words.

"Huo…" Adara's breathing was so fast that it was a wonder she wasn't choking on the air itself. "Huo is the South Wind. Yeah, and, uh… he, he's the one who, um…"

Then it hit her. She remembered what cruel position she had always been assigned to represent around the table. What the Southern Wind's gift was.

"Beauty," Adara bitterly choked out. "He's in charge of beauty and purity. Something that doesn't always go hand in hand, because sometimes no matter how pure or innocent you are, he decides to take beauty from you."

Tahira loudly cleared her throat and shot her daughter a look: this was not an appropriate place for Adara to rant about her scars.

"Sorry," Adara dropped her gaze at the vase of incense. "So, we now light this incense…"

Adara's hands shook violently as she raised the steel above the flint.

All she had to do was strike it.

"To thank him for beauty…"

Israt frowned, watching the Princess, recalling in horror, the young girl's early words.

_When I see a fire, I can't breathe._

Adara struggled to inhale as her eyes frozen on the flint.

_I feel like I'm bearing a thousand pound weight on my chest, and I'm gasping for air that just won't come. _

The Princess was getting whiter by the second, her hands shaking so hard, it was a miracle she did not drop her tools.

The tears clouded her eyes. Adara could remember how the flames felt, burning her face, Jamal and Rayhan laughing as she screamed for help that only came too late.

"And purity…" Adara barely managed out.

_My throat tightens and I wheeze, desperate not to die. _

Her breathing was erratic as she tried with all her might to get her hands to cooperate.

Just one little flame was all she needed.

"Adara," she heard her mother chide, but she couldn't bring herself to light it.

The room was swirling before her, everything dark and concerning as she began to sway.

_I get dizzy, my head spins, and my vision goes black as I shake and use all of my strength to just stay upright._

No help was coming now.

She had to do it.

Barely keeping herself upright, there was a loud buzzing in her ears as she tried to urge her hands to move. The world was shifting around her, and the room filled with hurried whispers.

Behind the Princess, Israt was frowning.

Adara looked half a second away from collapsing to the floor, and being the closest to the girl, the maid shifted her position, ready to sprung to her feet and catch the Princess, should the young girl fall.

The maid looked over at the Masters of the House. Kasim too was starting to rise, ready to save his daughter, but despite the concerned look on Tahira's face, the Lady Princess pulled her husband down.

"She can't do it, Tahira," Kasim whispered fervently, trying to stand once more, but once again his wife held him back.

"She has to face this fear, Kasim," Tahira replied in a mess of a whisper. She sounded angry, commanding, and at the same time as fearful as her husband.

"Not. Like. This," Kasim snapped.

He rarely used a commanding tone with his wife, but as he uttered each word as its own emphatic sentence, he rose to his feet, knocking aside his wife's attempt to lower him.

There was a loud commotion from the audience, and a great shuffling of feet, but neither Kasim, nor Israt took notice of the disruption as they dared to defy the most powerful woman in the kingdom, and rose to their feet.

Suddenly, there was a clattering sound: that of the flint and steel hitting the floor.

Adara was chalk white, gaping at nothing, but fear riddling every inch of her body. Her knees buckled, and people were shoved away as Israt and every member of the Royal family present, rushed to catch the Princess.

She barely registered a pair of arms catching her before the world went black.

* * *

><p>"May the Winds, protect us, and bless us, and forever contain us," Rayhan murmured, his head bowed as Sarah and Henry carefully watched him complete his small ceremony. "We thank you, and adore you."<p>

Without a word, Rayhan began to pack away his tools, aware of the two sets of eyes studying him.

"Thank you, Princess Odette," Rayhan said carefully wrapping the four tiny travel vases in cloth and securing them in his satchel. "I completely forgot that it was Ceremony time."

"Oh, it's no problem," Sarah assured the Prince, handing him the four half sticks of incense. "Actually, it was quite fascinating. I've read about Metallite ceremonies, but I've never actually seen one. I love how each stick of incense means something, though I can never remember what the scents for Huo are."

"Magnolia for beauty and lotus for purity," the Prince answered automatically. It was clear that the rituals of the ceremonies had been drilled in him from a young age. "To be honest the best ceremony is the New Moon Ceremony; the rest have too much chanting, and the mooncakes are to die for at the Palace of Ferrum."

"I've always wanted to try one." Sarah smiled coyly, "Any chance you can falcon me one?"

Rayhan laughed, "Sorry, you'd have to be in Ferrum for the new moon to have one. Though I could easily arrange for that, if you wanted."

Sarah's smile dropped, and she sent an uncertain look to Henry.

"You want me to visit Ferrum?" she asked.

"Oh," Rayhan shifted awkwardly, realising his mistake, "well if you wanted to."

Sarah frowned; she had never been outside of Lignum, save for the occasional visit to William's Palace in Arva. But she had never considered wanting to go anywhere else, Lignum was a wonderful country and it was her home. It was large enough as it was, so why would she ever want to go anywhere else? What could Metallum, or Aqua, or even Ignis possibly have that she would want?

_"What about love?"_ asked a small voice in the back of her mind.

In was true, love was the only thing that could ever urge her to leave Lignum. The love of her family, the love of her country, either would get her to set off without hesitation, but the love of a man? If it was a man she loved, she didn't know if she would leave Lignum. If she were to ever marry someone like Rayhan, she would have to live in Metallum, only seeing her home and her family occasionally, and she could never abandon either.

But she had never felt that kind of love, so how could she possibly know what it would make her do?

"The only way Father would ever let me visit Metallum, would be if we were courting," Sarah awkwardly told the Prince.

Rayhan hesitated, "Well… I mean, we could fix that dilemma.

Sarah looked up at the Prince abruptly.

Court him? Hadn't she hated him but a day ago?

But their relationship wasn't the same it had been a day ago. Over the day, Sarah had relaxed in regards to the Prince, and having spent time generally alone on their picnic, Rayhan had in fact proven himself charming and a much better person than she originally thought.

But she had sworn to herself that she would only court someone she thought she could love. And did she love Rayhan? No; of course not. It was much too soon for it to be love. And, yes, she liked him, and maybe it was a little more than a friendly feeling, but was he the kind of man she could fall in love with?

He was like her: kind, attractive, strong, brave, intelligent, and most importantly, mature. Rayhan did not appear to be innocent minded about the world, and if there was one thing Sarah could not stand, it was foolish naïveté based on being stupid enough to think there was no evil in this world. And if anything, it appeared that compared to Rayhan, she would be the more naïve of the two.

They were a very good match; a match Cassandra herself would be proud of.

But could she court him?

"No," Sarah looked down. "I'm, sorry, I can't court you. I mean, I like you-"

"So, then why can't we court?" Rayhan asked. She found his voice strange, it wasn't hostile or unfriendly, but there was the tiniest threat in the strength of it. "If I like you and you like me, and we hold the positions we do, then there's no reason we shouldn't."

"But my father-"

"Does your father get to dictate your personal life?"

"No!" she snapped, echoing the passion she had hen speaking of her father's insistence of her archery practice.

"Plus, wouldn't a courtship strengthen the alliance between Lignum and Metallum?" Rayhan pointed out. "I mean it's not like I'm proposing marriage, but there's a rich history of courtships finalizing alliances."

"It is important that we get this alliance."

"And your brothers and sisters, have any of them been outside of Lignum and Terra? I know that younger blonde twin, Bernard is it? He's pretty stir crazy, and it would be a good idea for Andrew to see some foreign politics in action firsthand."

"It would be a good venture," Sarah had to admit that Caye had always wanted to go off exploring. Richard liked to joke that Caye should have been born with wings. "As for Bernard, sometimes I fear I'll wake to find he's taken a horse and gone in search of adventure. That boy really is going to upset the wrong Star, and get turned into an animal one of these days."

"Well, let's hope not," Rayhan chuckled. "Come on, I'm a Prince that is someday going to be a King. We both know that you're better at this being in charge things than Andrew, and truth be told, I think he might be threatened."

Sarah frowned, "No, he doesn't feel-"

But she stopped; she couldn't say with full confidence that Andrew wasn't threatened.

Originally Sarah had been invited to accompany Andrew when he took audiences with their father, but after one too many times when Sarah had offered better solutions, Andrew had begun to show signs of jealousy.

Then came the day when she and Andrew had overheard a Lord say that it would be better for Lignum if Sarah had been the firstborn, and that she should be Queen.

Sarah remembered the look in her brother's eyes: the pain, the anger, the guilt, and above all, the fear.

After that, Richard had decided that it would be better if she spent audience time with Lindsey, learning how to crochet.

Since then, things had been rather frosty between the siblings when it came to politics, and Sarah worried that part of the reason Andrew floundered so much in King Lessons was because he felt threatened that the title of Monarch would be stolen away by Sarah. It didn't help that Richard showed more outward favor to her, and teach Andrew by challenging him.

If Sarah began to court Rayhan, Andrew would see that she could possibly become Queen of Metallum which meant that she would no longer be a threat. In Elementum a person was not allowed to rule more than one country, regardless if they were a Consort. If Sarah was married to someone like Jamal, who was never actually expected to become King, her position as Andrew's heir would remain, but if she or any of her younger siblings married a King or Crown Prince, they would be bumped down to the final slot in the Order of Succession to after Jane and any children she might have (in the case of Jane marrying a King or Crown Prince, she would retain her position, being the youngest, and Richard having no other family to supersede her in line).

It could only be a marriage to a King or Crown Prince, because at the moment all of the Princesses in Elementum were either one of their sisters, currently married, or not going to receive the throne.

"Just think about it," Rayhan's tone became smooth, as it always did when he was charming someone. "Our courtship would be a great idea for so many reasons. It would benefit Lignum politically, which would mean your siblings would be a lot safer with our help from any threat that may oppose you. You can take them with you to see Metallum and let them live a little in the wall. You can meet my brother, and cousin Adara, and the three of you can team up to complain about me. And it would show your father that he isn't allow to dictate your life. Don't you want that?"

"It does sound good," Sarah bit her lip, guilt and craving swirling in a mass of confused emotions.

Sarah had no idea Rayhan was playing right into her insecurities.

But Henry did.

"Well, Your Highnesses," Henry loudly interrupted, marching over to start cleaning up the picnic, "I think it's time to head back."

"Yes," Rayhan smiled at the Dwarf innocently, holding out a hand to help Sarah up, "I supposed it is."

As the trio began to pack up the picnic, putting food in containers and so on, Sarah thought hard about Rayhan's proposition.

"Okay, if I were interested in courting you," Sarah finally said and Rayhan looked up at her interest, "how could I really consent? I don't know anything about you."

Rayhan smiled, gathering the scraps of food that Henry would dispose in the treeline, "How about I make you a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

He smirked, "I will answer any question about myself you pose, as long as you answer the same of yourself."

"Anything?"

"Well, anything but what you don't want to answer yourself."

Sarah considered it.

"Alright."

The two Royals bent down and grasped opposite ends of the blanket on the grass.

"First question," Rayhan nodded to Sarah.

"Okay." They folded the blanket in half, gathering their two corners in one hand before grasping the newly formed ones, "What's your favorite colour?"

"Red," Rayhan replied with a slight nod. "Yours?"

"White," Sarah answered, the two folding the blanket in half once more. "Favorite food?"

Rayhan smiled, thinking wistfully of the dish he described, "Chicken with cream sauce, sautéed peas, and onions, over jasmine rice. I think I know yours though."

"Shepherd's pie," Sarah laughed, nodding to the half-eaten container by the basket that had been waiting when they arrived in the clearing, "but only if it has lamb. I don't get people who make it with beef."

"It truly is a mystery. Come on, give me a serious one."

"Alright," Sarah walked towards Rayhan to fold the blanket in the opposite direction. Right when they were face to face, and hands touching as Sarah transferred her half of the blanket into Rayhan's grasp, she asked, "Do you want kids?"

Sarah could barely hold back laughter as Rayhan turned pale, and she used the moment to gather the bottom of the blanket.

"Kids?" Rayhan finally choked out. "Well, yeah, as King, I'll need a few kids. A couple boys, maybe a girl. What about you? Are you like your dad and aiming for your own dozen?"

"Oh, Stars no!" she laughed walking back to flatten out the blanket. "I don't know. I feel mother enough to my siblings, but someday down the line I might have kids if I find the right guy."

"You didn't answer how many."

"I don't know yet, but I definitely want a couple girls. I've dealt with more than my fair share of boys."

"Just when I thought we were clicking," Rayhan teased as they came together again. "Next question."

"Most prized possession."

"My sword," Rayhan answered as they folded the blanket one last time and placed it next to the picnic basket. "Yours?"

"My necklace," Sarah gestured to her bronze and emerald swan. "Can you cook?"

"Absolutely not."

"Me neither," Sarah laughed. "Favorite feature on a person?"

"Wrists," Rayhan playfully glanced at her own.

"Mine is a person's smile. Favorite number?"

"18."

"7," Sarah answered in turn.

"I'm not surprised," Rayhan smirked.

"Odette, I'm going to go spread these in the trees," Henry picked up the plate of table scraps.

"Okay," Sarah waited for him to leave, and then she turned to the Prince. "Alright, I wanted to wait until we were alone for this one. Who was your first kiss?"

"I wondered if you were going to ask that," Rayhan laughed. "I was fifteen and it was one of my mother's servants, a fourteen year old girl named Atiya. It was quick, in a storage closet, and her dad walked in on us."

"Ouch!" Sarah giggled. "What he'd do?"

"Couldn't do anything other than a dirty look because of my station, but I didn't do anything else with her after that," Rayhan admitted. "What about you? Who was the lucky guy?"

Sarah blushed, "No one."

Rayhan's eyes went wide, "No one?"

"No one."

"Wow," Rayhan frowned. "I wasn't expecting that. Saving it for something special?"

"There's never really been any guy I wanted to kiss."

Rayhan took a step toward her, and she did the same. They were standing close enough that they could feel each other's breath.

"And," Rayhan reached out and gently placed a hand on her cheek, "is there now?"

She looked deep into his grey eyes, the colour so foreign, and strange, and forbidden.

"Yes," she whispered.

Without asking, Rayhan leaned in and captured her lips with his own.

For years she had imagined this moment, that of her first kiss. She wanted it to be as if from some epic romance, the sun setting in the background, the rewards of the great adventure they had just taken, laying at their feet, and the kiss perfect, soft, dry lips, the kiss somehow both chaste and passionate as they both poured all of their love and adoration into the act.

What she had was a kiss while her chaperone's back was turned, with a man she had known for only a few days, whom her father and friends despised. Rayhan was the only one putting anything into the kiss, Sarah in more of a state of shock at it actually happening. The kiss was rough and brief; his lips wet, and slightly reminded her of the rubbery way squid tasted.

Were all kisses supposed to feel like this? If so, what was the big fuss over them? This wasn't something special.

There was the sound of some clearing their throat, and the two Royals pulled apart to see Henry watching them with a slight frown and crossed arms.

"So," his tone was both awkward and angry as disapproval shone in his eyes. "I guess Odette has agreed to court you?"

"Oh," Sarah looked at Rayhan. "I guess… Yeah, sure. Let's court."

Somehow this wasn't how she pictured agreeing to court the love of her life.

"Okay, then. If it makes you happy." Henry nervously looked at Rayhan, "If you grab the blanket, Your Highness, I'll take the basket."

"Sure."

As Rayhan went to collect his satchel and the blanket, Sarah went o follow, only to find herself being stopped as Henry gently pulled aside. Sarah looked at him for a second, then lowered her gaze to avoid the disappointed look in the Dwarf's eyes.

"Sarah," Henry dared to whisper her real name, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"I know, Hehnee," Sarah smiled glancing at Rayhan. She attempted to convey exactly how serious she was by using the Dwarf's birth Terran name, rather than the Lignized one he adopted many years ago. "But if it is a mistake, maybe I need to make it."

"You never need to make a mistake."

"Really?" Sarah raised a brow. "Well, tell me this, if you hadn't made the mistake of staying in that Terran inn when you knew Maeveen was ruling with anti-Lignumi sentiments, and stayed long enough for that guy to steal that painting and blame you for it, would you have ever met the Dwarves, and in turn, Theresa?"

Henry sighed, "Maybe not."

"It was a mistake worth making," Sarah said, "and maybe this one will be too."

Henry took a wary glance at Rayhan, "I only hope you're right."

And she was.

Despite all the hardships that would follow in the years to come, Sarah would assert that it had been a mistake worth making, because although Rayhan did not prove to be her true love, it was thanks to him, that she would meet Christian Phoenixflame, the real love of her life.

She just didn't know it yet.

* * *

><p>With the threat Jamal posed against her, Aileen really shouldn't have been wandering the halls alone, but it still wasn't her fault that upon finding her alone, he grabbed her, covered her mouth and yanked her into a closet.<p>

"Don't worry, I'm letting go of your mouth," Jamal removed his one hand, but the other stayed locked around her waist. "You'd just bite me away, and not in the good way."

"Let me go or I'll scream!" Aileen struggled in his grasp.

"I'm not going to do anything," Jamal let her go, but blocked the door. "I just thought you'd like one last chance to reconsider our arrangement."

"We have no arrangement!" Aileen snapped looking around her some sort of weapon to protect herself. Spotting a broom, she reached out for it, but Jamal locked a hand around her wrist.

"Then let me put it this way," he yanked her against himself. "All I want is just one little round in your room, and I'll leave you alone forever."

"I don't know what impression I gave you, but I have never let anyone have _a little round in my room_," she mocked, "and I'm not about to have the first time be with you."

"This is your last chance," Jamal threatened, "say yes now, or I will be forced make you sorry."

"You don't scare me," Aileen ripped her arm out of his grasp. "There's nothing you can do to me."

With that Aileen harshly shoved him aside, and stormed out of the closet.

Jamal just smirked.

"_If only you knew."_

* * *

><p>"Henry, I sent you to <em>stop <em>something like this from happening!" Richard exclaimed.

He, Henry, Elton, Rayhan, and Sarah were standing in the training field where the Dwarf and the King had been waiting for Sarah and the Prince to return. Though every man before the young adults was fuming, Sarah and Rayhan were standing their ground.

"Father, I have every right to make this decision, and I have made it," Sarah answered firmly. "Besides, this courtship will seal our alliance."

"You don't need to worry about our alliance," Richard said.

"Actually, I think she does," Rayhan interrupted. "In the entire time I've been here, you have not once approached me to start negotiating terms with me. In fact, I've been insulted and mistreated. Now, my Father has given me the authority to make or reject this alliance, and with the way I've been received, I'm starting to doubt my wish to make one."

Richard sighed, torn between being a King and a father, but he had a responsibility.

"Fine," Richard said, "I will draw up a proposition tonight, and we'll start negotiating in the morning. But in regards of courting my daughter, I will not allow it."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but that is not your call the make," Rayhan's voice was cold. "It is Odette. So unless you can come up with some legal impediment to bar me from courting your daughter, I will."

Richard and Elton exchanged a nervous glance, to which Elton fervently shook his head.

"What's going on here?" the group turned to see Theresa heading towards them, followed by Lindsey, Nathaniel, and Aileen.

"Oh, haven't you heard?" Richard said through gritted teeth, "Odette and Rayhan are courting, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Oh, congratulations!" Theresa beamed at Sarah.

"Actually, it's not a good thing," Henry whispered to his wife.

"So, uh, Talia," Sarah glanced at Rayhan, "is the issue you were having this morning all cleared up?"

"Oh, yeah," Lindsey blushed. "Theresa and Aileen helped me. Daddy, can Nathaniel and I go for a ride? Theresa said she'd come with us?"

"Sure, Honey," Richard sighed. He leaned over to Elton, "Well, I've lost two of them to boys. You think it's too late to invest in a dragon guarded tower for Harley."

"Richard, there's no such thing as dragons," Elton pointed out. "And everyone knows that griffins are better."

"For the last time, Elton, griffins are not better than dragons!" Henry exclaimed. The dragon vs griffins argument had been raging fiercely between the Dwarves for years.

"Oh, come on! It's a lion and an eagle stuck together, it will peck your eyes out and eat your carcass!"

Just as the lawn was about to break out in a fierce debate of dragons and griffins, Lindsey tucked on her father's shirt.

Richard turned to see Jamal sauntering towards the group, with a smile that meant no good.

"Prince Jamal, for the last time, I will not repeal your restriction on being alone with Aileen," Richard said before Jamal had even come to a stop.

"Oh, well that didn't matter, I got to her early just fine," Jamal smirked.

"What?" Richard exclaimed, looking to Aileen who lowered her eyes.

"I thought you said you'd stay away from her!" Rayhan snapped.

"Oh, I said I understood your order," Jamal replied. "I never said I'd obey it. Besides, I have better idea now. King Richard, I would like to court your daughter, Talia."

Richard burst out laughing, "Like, hell you will!"

"Like hell I will, indeed," Jamal grinned, "because I'm calling upon the Courtship Clause of the Hospitality Customs."

Richard laughter stopped dead, horror in his eyes, mirrored in the shocked members of the group around them.

"You what?" Sarah exclaimed.

"You can't!" Theresa objected.

"Daddy, please don't make me," Lindsey begged.

"Don't worry," Richard patted his shoulder, "he can't do that."

"Actually, I can," Jamal said. "I'm a Prince, and she's a Princess, and the rules clearly state that if an heir of one country calls the courtship of another heir, you're obligated to give me twenty days, which would bring us to the day of your Festival."

"Yes, but they also have to be eligible for marriage for it to apply," Richard corrected.

"Based on whichever country's restrictions are the lowest," Jamal pointed out. "That would be Metallum in this case, and I know for a fact that not only am I above the age of sixteen, but that sweet little Talia became eligible this morning by starting her first course."

Theresa gasped and Richard wheeled on Rayhan.

"You told him!" he raged at the elder Prince.

"How could I?" Rayhan looked just as shocked as everyone else.

"Richard," Henry defended, "he's been with us the whole time."

"He's right," Jamal said, "Rayhan told me nothing."

"Then how did you find out?" Richard demanded.

Jamal chuckled, glancing at Aileen; there was a dark look in his eye that she didn't like.

"Jamal!" Richard exclaimed, "Who told you."

Jamal smirked, and said one word.

"Aileen."

* * *

><p>AN: Just a quick note before we go, because I know I'm going to get at least one review about this. I know in this chapter I state that Metallites never worship, honour, nor cry out to the Stars, and I also know that I have had Metallites say things like "By the Stars" in previous chapters. The reason is that I only developed the idea of Metallites not being so entranced by the Stars and refusing to act like they're Gods, while I was developing this chapter.

This is just one of the many things that have now changed since I wrote the previous chapters. So, instead of continuing on with writing the next chapter, I will take this chance to go back and do an overhaul of the currently published chapters. Hopefully, it won't take too long, and I can then continue writing the next chapter, but I have no estimate to give you.

If you have any suggestions for what needs to be fixed, I will be going over reviews to find things to work on, so all suggestions would be helpful.

I thank you all for your patience, and urge you that, when you see the next chapter posted, to go back and reread the edited chapters so that you don't get confused.

Thank you, and hope you enjoyed the chapter.

P. S. Sorry for doing this when we end with a cliffhanger.


	12. The Cowards and Lies of Love

A/N: Important note: I have decided to wait until after I have completed Book One before I did the rewrite, just so that I could get the book finished. I'm terribly sorry about the confusion. You don't have to worry about most of the stuff I will rewrite, except for the following four facts:

1. Daphne no longer exists, and ergo Avery no longer has a crush on her.

2. Madeleine and Trevor are now the children of Marshall and the deceased Ariadne.

3. All Dwarves hold an honorary title (but not actual governmental power of) of Lord, allowing themselves and their children to have heart in their bannername, but no one but Madeleine and Trevor elect to use the heart bannername.

4. Rayhan and Zahid's father is dying of blood clots, rather than colon cancer.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eleven<p>

The Cowards and Lies of Love

* * *

><p>The crowd was silent, their minds echoing the name of Aileen in disbelief.<p>

"I. Beg. Your. Pardon?" Richard's voice was colder than ice.

He was fuming, a clear threat to anyone who might say the wrong word in that moment. In fact, Sarah and Lindsey shared a quick look, and in unison, took a step back. Their father looked more dangerous in that moment than he had in their entire lives.

They were part of the lucky ones whose Jamal's declaration did not render immovable. The Princesses watched as Theresa and Elton exchanged frowns themselves. Henry had his usual expression for when he was attempting to put a confusing situation together: eyes squeezed shut, head slightly bowed, a thumb on his chin, while the index and middle fingers pressed his nose on the bridge between his eyes. Jamal was the only one else with his senses about him, smirking in cruel victory.

Everyone else seemed frozen in shock. Nathaniel presented a mix of disbelief and fear, taking quick glances between Jamal and Lindsey. Rayhan was scowling, jaw hanging slightly, and fury building in his eyes. It was hard to tell if Rayhan was mad that Jamal was ruining his plans, or that he had been duped by the younger cousin.

As for Aileen, she was a statue. Fear, shock, confusion, and a pleading look of innocence, wondering how Jamal could believably set her up, and if Richard would fall for it.

"I said that Aileen told me about Princess Talia," Jamal answered Richard's dangerous query. "Aileen was so tired of having to look over her shoulder for me, that she offered the information in exchange for leaving her alone."

The Prince's words seemed to knock Aileen out of her shock.

With a pleading look in her eyes, she turned to Richard to object, "Your Majesty-"

Richard held up a commanding hand, and Aileen fell silent.

"And when exactly did she offer this information?" Richard questioned the Metallite.

Jamal said nothing, but looked to Aileen and gloated in silence.

The Maid took it as an opportunity to again try to plead her case, "Please, King Richard-"

"Aileen, you will have your turn!" Richard didn't look at her as he shot down the Maid. His eyes were darkly fixed upon the younger Prince, "Prince Jamal, when?"

"This afternoon," Jamal answered. "I pulled her into a closet and attempted to bargain for her cooperation."

Richard turned to the Maid, "Aileen, is this true?"

His voice was still firm, but it was considerably softer in tone, taking on a hint of fatherliness. It was clear that he trusted the Maid's words more than the Prince's.

"Well, yes," Aileen had to admit. "Technically. But we made no such bargain!"

"Then what exactly did you say?"

Aileen recounted the meeting, how Jamal had restrained her and forced her in the closet, how he threatened her, how she stood firm in her rejection. To her surprise, Jamal made no objection in her account of things, and that fact scared her.

"_What's he playing at, here?" _Aileen frowned at the Prince.

"So, just to be clear," Elton said, once Aileen had finished the tale, "despite me arranging for you to have a guard at any time you request, you still decided to attend your duties without one?"

"Elton, this is not her fault," Richard snapped.

"I'm just saying, isn't it unwise to not take protective measures when she knows there's a threat against her?" Elton pointed out.

"She shouldn't _have_ to take those measures!" Theresa cried. "No woman should! She should be able to walk down the hall in her own home, or _anywhere_,without having to be alert, armed, or protected, forced to assume that at all times there's going to be a man planning to attack her."

"Theresa, you can lecture Elton on the issue later," Richard silenced the duo. "But Elton is right in a sense. It's one thing to worry about a possible threat at any time, it's a different thing when one's been clearly, and specifically, made. It's like when I ensure that I have extra guards around when there's been a serious threat made to me. Aileen, did you ensure you were protected?"

"No," Aileen lowered her head. "I thought that after you warned him, in addition to his cousin warning him, that Prince Jamal would still not have the nerve to threaten me. I was wrong, but I swear, I didn't tell him about Princess Talia."

"Well then, who did?" Richard turned back to Jamal.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Jamal shrugged lazily. "The fact remains that I have reason to believe that Princess Talia has begun her cycle, and I'm sure that can quite easily be determined if we need to."

"We're not _determining _anything!" Richard snapped ferociously.

Lindsey whimpered at the thought of being physically checked to verify the Prince's claims. She shrunk further behind Sarah, who was still positioned in front of her, guarding the younger sister from Jamal.

Rayhan even took a warning step towards Jamal, challenging his cousin to try to get past him if he insisted on violating Lindsey's privacy.

"You will _not _touch my sister," Sarah commanded. "I will personally confirm that Talia has started her cycle. Sorry, Talia."

"I'd prefer this to the alternative," Lindsey gave a small smile.

She couldn't help but glance quizzically over at Nathaniel. How was her obvious crush taking the news that Mother Nature had deemed her ready for courtship?

Nathanial refused to meet Lindsey's eyes. His face was flushed, but it was not in embarrassment at hearing of the Princess' menstrual situation, but rather the implications it would have on their clear, yet unspoken, attraction.

Jamal watched in glee at the awkward situation he had put the young pair in.

"Well, if Odette can personally affirm, then we have no issue," Jamal turned back to Richard. The Prince's voice was oddly formal and certainly well measured to be used in the talk of political exchanges, "I have called upon the Courtship Clause, and I demand that I am given my right to court Talia for twenty days."

"I am not agreeing to anything until I've found out who leaked this information." Richard's answer was sharp and short. The King turned to his eldest daughter, determined to get to the bottom of it, "Odette, you were there when Talia's condition was discovered? Who else was this information disclosed to?"

"Well, there was myself, Prince Rayhan, and Henry," Sarah glanced to the pair behind her.

"I can vouch that none of us had any contact with anyone else after the discovery."

"And we'll vouch for her," Henry nodded to the Princess.

"Alright." Richard turned to his next daughter, "Who else?"

"Well," Lindsey swallowed, not wanting to get anyone in trouble. "Harley, Beth, and Hannah were there."

"And after that?"

"Beth and Hannah proceeded straight to their rooms," Elton reported. "Harley went with her twin, Prince Ladon, to Tutor Nestor with after the incident, and none of them have left those rooms since."

"Anyone gone in or out of either place?" Richard inquired.

"I don't know," Elton shook his head.

"Then we'll have to talk to all five," Richard sighed. It was going to take forever to figure this out. "And your actions, after the incident, Theresa? Just as a precaution."

"Of course," Theresa nodded. "I've been with Talia the whole time."

"What about you, Aileen?" Richard turned to the Maid, the only person remaining. "What did you do afterwards?"

"I took the Princess' sheets to the laundry," Aileen answered.

"And did you speak to anyone?" Richard asked.

She thought about it briefly, and then her eyes shot wide. It was as if the answer had slapped her across the face.

"_Oh, Stars!" _Aileen paled as she looked to Jamal in horror. _"Oh, Stars! It all makes sense."_

"I talked to," She tried to make her voice not shake, but a tremor could still be detected. A tear threatened to spill from the corner of her eye, as she glanced over at Sarah.

The Princess met her friend's gaze, and then Sarah brushed her hand against Rayhan's, signalling she needed the strength of his support. There was no hesitation as he gladly accepted the offer, firmly clasping her hand in his.

"Who?" Richard threw a quick glare at Rayhan.

Aileen whimpered, "It was Piper."

Jamal wasn't the least bit startled to hear all but Rayhan, let out the same annoyed, yet unsurprised groan.

"Why didn't I see that one coming?" Richard rubbed his throbbing temples in frustration. He was going to need a little of painkillers that night.

"So, it was Piper who told you?" Elton clarified.

"It could have been," Jamal answered with a noncommittal shrug. He grinned wickedly at Aileen once again, "Or it could have been Aileen. Or Princess Harley, or Talia's handmaiden, or any number of people."

"Well, I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Richard declared. He looked sharply at his daughters, "So, if anyone has any additional information you wish to share, now would be the time."

Lindsey and Sarah said nothing.

"Well, then," Richard sighed, "you can both go. Elton, I need you to round up-"

"Uh, King Richard?" Jamal interrupted, "We still have the issue of Courtship to discuss."

"I had hoped you'd forgotten that," Richard muttered. With defeat in his voice, Richard turned to his trusted Right Hand Man, "Alright, Elton, I need you to get me a copy of the Hospitality Customs that outlines _exactly _what the Courtship Clause says. There should be a book in my right hand desk drawer."

"Of course," Elton bowed, and glancing sympathetically at Lindsey, he started for Richard's office.

Rayhan raised a brow at the King, "You have a copy of the Hospitality Customs readily at hand?"

"Let's just say, you and your cousin have been making me consult it regularly," Richard gave a forced smile. He struggled to sound as formal as possible, struggling to prevent his anger at the Metallites from overtaking him. "In the meanwhile, Prince Jamal, perhaps we can speak reasonably about this?"

"It's worth a shot," Jamal shrugged, his formality gone.

As they waited for Elton to return, the group was forced to awkwardly watch Richard attempted to negotiate with the Prince. Despite the King's best efforts, Jamal firmly stood his ground against any objection or alternative Richard offered.

Nathaniel took the distraction to creep over to Lindsey. Sarah smiled, and took a step aside, allowing the servant boy to converse with Lindsey for the first time since discovering her new health situation.

"He's not actually going to make you court him, is he?" Nathaniel nervously asked his friend, glancing warily at Jamal.

The Prince now had him arms folded in front of him, and smirked in silence as Richard did his best to convince Jamal into a new arrangement.

"To be honest, I don't know." Lindsey watched in worry at her father's attempts. "I mean it's not like I'm betrothed, and I'm not courting anyone, so I guess I am fair game. At least, as far as the Courtship Clause is concerned. I'd do anything to stop it though."

"Well, is there anything_ I_ can do?" Nathaniel asked.

Lindsey glanced at the boy, a clear question in her mind. He blushed and looked away from her, She didn't need to say the word for him to know her idea.

_Courtship._

As the silence hang in the air, Aileen took the opportunity to silently approach the group. She desperately needed to speak to her best friend, but she glanced unsurely at the Prince whose hand Sarah was still holding.

Noticing her friend's concern, Sarah released Rayhan's hand.

"Aileen," Sarah whispered to her handmaiden. "What exactly did you tell Piper?"

"I'm not sure," Aileen whispered back. "I might have mentioned something, but I didn't think anything of it."

"Aileen, you know Piper hates you," Sarah wanted to exclaim, but kept her voice down for her father. "You know better than to tell her anything."

"Well, what was I supposed to do? She was working the wash station."

"We live in a Palace! We have more than one wash station!"

"Sorry, to interrupt," Rayhan joined in on their hushed conversation. "But who is Piper?"

"Piper Magwood," Sarah answered. "She's a maid with a vendetta against Aileen, and myself for liking Aileen."

Rayhan frowned, _"Where have I heard the name Piper-"_

And then it hit him.

"This, Piper," Rayhan swallowed. "She wouldn't happen to be about your age, have dark brown hair, and looks like she was born frowning?"

In unison, Sarah and Aileen looked at each other, folded their arms, and fixed Rayhan with the same ticked off expression at the Prince.

"Why?" Sarah did not sound impressed.

Rayhan nervously chuckled.

"I may have led Jamal to her," he awkwardly confessed.

"Why would you do that?" Sarah exclaimed, smacking him across the chest to which he, thankfully, did not even flinch at.

The sudden outburst caused the surrounding group to pause their own conversations and look at the Princess. Sarah gave a weak smile and shrunk back into her group.

"Well?" Sarah hushed voice returned.

"Well…" Rayhan had to tread lightly; he had worked so hard to get Sarah to court him, and if he let it slip what he had done to Piper on his first night, he could kiss it all goodbye. "Piper approached me on my first night here."

"No surprise there," Aileen muttered.

"Anyway, I rejected her advances," Rayhan lied, noticing the murderous look in Sarah's eye.

"_Apparently she's not open to sharing," _Rayhan thought. _"Good to know."_

"So why did you send Jamal to Piper?" Sarah shot crossly. "You're going to have to have a damn good explanation for this."

"Well, when I saw how aggressive Jamal was getting with Aileen, I gave him her name in hopes that he turned his attentions where they might be welcomed," Rayhan explained. "I never intended for this to happen, honestly."

Aileen exchanged an uncertain look with Sarah, but Sarah smiled, seeing the truth in at the very least, his final sentence.

"I think I believe you," Sarah said. "But you're going to have to make it up to me."

"Just name it, My Princess," Rayhan grinned.

Aileen rolled her eyes as the blush crept across Sarah's face.

"He's back!" Theresa called as she saw Elton hurrying down the steps of the Palace with a thick dusty book bearing the title _The Complete Unabridged Laws of the Founding Five._

"Sorry, I know it's not the official papers," Richard addressed the young Prince as he took the tome from the guard, "but I thought it was a little more portable than the real thing."

Intentionally blowing the dust from the book before flipping it opening, the King was forced to hold back a smile as a giant cloud of dust in Jamal's face. Trying to wave the air away, the Prince coughed so hard he threatened to hack out a lung.

Richard quickly located the Courtship Clause, and as his eyes ran over the section, his frown hardened, creases forming across his forehead.

"Well?" Jamal asked gleefully. He avoided Rayhan's dangerous glare that clearly read his cousin would make him pay.

"You're right," Richard exhaled deeply, annoyance riddling the sound. "I have to grant you twenty day."

"He can't be right!" Sarah exclaimed. "Doesn't Talia get a choice in the matter?"

"No. It's only been used once, by the parents of the participants, so there's no separate clause for when the claim is made by a participant, rather than their parent." Richard looked at Jamal, anger seething through his concession, "It says that the only way I can reject you if my daughter meets the parameters, is if she's betrothed, which she is not, courting, which again, she is not, or if…"

Richard peered closely at the page, and Lindsey's heart lifted.

"_Maybe there's a way out," _she thought hopefully, grinning hopefully at Nathaniel.

"A rival suitor may challenge the claim," Richard read out.

Nathaniel perked up, straightening involuntarily.

"The rival suitor must challenge the proposed suitor to a duel of weapons combat to first blood."

Lindsey watched Nathaniel as he looked very much like a deer in a hunter's sights.

It was an awkward moment. Though it was clear there was a shared affection – and it was a common joke that the two wished to court one another – Lindsey and Nathaniel had never outright spoken about courting. This was no surprise, as they had both just turned thirteen that year, and the bonds of friendship had only recently started to be influenced by the hormones of puberty. They had thought that there would be plenty of time before they had to face the question of whether or not they seriously wanted to be a couple.

But now it is out there, a fearful focus set before them. It was more than just a maybe or unspoken hope, it was a way out, and opportunity for a romantic storybook beginning that would echo through the ages.

Lindsey wouldn't outright ask him – she didn't want to force the pressure on her crush – but the look on her face was easy to read.

Nathaniel's heart hammered in his chest.

Yes, he could do this. He could swing in and be the knight in shining armor for the Princess. He could be a hero, winning his love in a great challenge, professing his love.

But then he looked at Jamal.

Jamal was not only six years older than the boy, but he had years of fight training, and Nathaniel had nothing but a wickedly fast ability to clean a saddle.

Was Lindsey worth risking his very life for?

"_Yes," _automatically answered the voice in the back of his head.

"Well then," Jamal looked at Nathaniel in defiance. "Is there anyone here who wants to challenge me for Talia? Winner take all."

Had the winner not have been forced to court Lindsey after their victory, without a doubt, all but Rayhan and Aileen would have challenged Jamal without hesitation. Aileen knew better than that, understanding that not only was she incapable of winning, but that it would likely end in a physical situation with Jamal from which she had already been fighting him off.

It was all down to Nathaniel.

"Well?" Lindsey asked, her eyes glittering with hope.

"Uh…" Nathaniel glanced at Jamal.

The Prince could easily beat the stable hand in less than five minutes, but Lindsey was banking everything on him.

"I…" Nathaniel looked away.

If he didn't say yes now, he knew that he would lose any future chance to court Lindsey as well.

Was it worth it?

Nathaniel sighed, "I'm sorry. I don't know anyone who'd challenge."

He couldn't watch Lindsey as his words hit her like a blow to the stomach.

Yes, Lindsey was _worth _fighting for., but he wasn't strong enough to do it.

He glanced up, and his eyes met Richard's disappointed, yet understanding, look.

"I'm sorry too," Richard said.

Nathaniel looked away: his path was clear.

Yes, today he was a coward, but now he would work to make himself strong. Not just strong, but strong enough that just maybe, just maybe, someday, he _could _fight her Lindsey.

What he didn't know, was that his opportunity to fight for her would take a different form than a physical confrontation.

And worst of all, it was coming very soon.

* * *

><p>Adara groaned, her eyes fluttering against the invasive light as she broke from the blackness. Her senses were swirling, trying to grasp an understanding of the situation as she slowly regained consciousness.<p>

She felt a sort of softness upon her body. Her back to be specific, she realised. And she wasn't upright. No, she was lying on something soft. And a sheet of warmth, a blanket she figured, enveloped her, because the air was somewhat cold.

As her eyes focused on the roof above her, she noticed that it was obscured by a piece of fabric. It was a royal scarlet canopy that was somehow familiar, held up by elegantly sculpted pieces of twisted metal that formed the bed frame.

Adara smelled the pleasant scents of cinnamon, rose, jasmine, lily, and orange blossom. Again, it was familiar… like the ceramic jars of potpourri that were placed throughout her bedroom.

Yes! She was in her bedroom! The richly ornate bed placed against the far wall, decorated in the tones of her favorite colour, red. The potpourri that made the room smell of her favorite fragrances. The soft, silken blankets that insulated her, because the fireplace meant to warm the room, stayed unlit due to her intense fear.

It was as Adara was taking in the murmurs of recognizable voices placed around the room, that she remembered that it was that fear that had made her pass out in the first place.

Adara groaned, closing her eyes and rolling back her head on the pillow.

"She's awake," Adara heard a feminine say. It wasn't a strange voice, per say, but she certainly was someone new in Adara's life.

"What- What happened?" Adara turned her head to face to the door.

As she opened her eyes, she found her father right next to her head, sitting on a chair that had clearly been brought into the room. Kasim was smiling at her, and gently stroked her cheek.

"You just fell down, My Little Jasmine Flower," Kasim said tenderly, using the personal term of affection he had bestowed upon her when she had been but an infant. "Are you alright?"

"I'm feeling okay," Adara slowly sat up, automatically pulling her hair in front of her scars. She caught the hard look of her mother, who was seated in the chair at Adara's vanity table. Adara hesitated, and with a look that read that the action caused the girl great pain, she pulled her hair out her face. "Did I hit my head?"

"No," Tahira had little emotion in her voice, save for displeasure, and perhaps a smidge of guilt. "You simply passed out from attempting to light the final incense."

"You were caught before you hit the ground," the female voice came from the foot of Adara's bed.

Adara didn't smile, but it was clear she felt some pleasure at seeing Israt at the end of her bed, kneeling on the ornate rug that spanned the majority of the floor. She didn't really like the rug, an anaconda devouring a phoenix, but Tahira had insisted Adara keep it, and that she should be honoured as it had been a gag birthday present made by Queen Lorelei, Terra's founder, which she gave to Queen Zayna, Metallum's founder. The phoenix was a joking reference to Lorelei's husband, Ignis' founder, Tyson, whom Zayna had a famous rivalry with.

"I remember that," Adara struggled to recall the panic that had led to the collapse. "What happened after I passed out?"

"Well, Israt, your Father, and your Rescuer took you out of the hall, and I finished the ceremony," Tahira answered. "No sense in not giving the Winds their blessing just because my daughter cannot handle a simple flame."

Adara didn't say anything, but she felt the sting of her mother's words, as Tahira seemed more upset about the ceremony being interrupted than Adara's blackout.

"Tahira, be reasonable," Kasim said, his voice carefully even, trying not to sound superior, nor like he was making a suggestion.

His position in their marriage had always been a bit of a struggle. He was not able to supersede Tahira's authority – due to her Royal lineage and his lesser one – nor was he willing to bow to her every whim. Sometimes Adara wondered how the coupling had come to be, or why they had chosen to join in marriage. It would only be a glimpse of those stolen affectionate moments, that reassured Adara of her mother's affection for her father. What Kasim understood, that Adara failed to, was the vulnerable position Tahira was in politically – with Jamal now being of age and the danger he was – and how she could not show weakness for even a second.

"I _am _being reasonable, Kasim!" Tahira snapped. "Adara needs to conquer this fear. It's already taken over enough of her life, as it is, and I refuse to allow it to continue being a problem."

In annoyance, Kasim turned to face his wife, "All I'm saying, Tahira, is that maybe we shouldn't-"

"Do _not _lecture me on what we should and shouldn't do!" Tahira barked. "I have had such fears in the past, and you know better than anyone that the way I overcame it was by facing it."

"Yes, but you had support every step of the way, and someone to help stop things when you became overwhelmed! Meanwhile, what do you do when it's our daughter in the situation? You push and push until she breaks."

"And you don't push enough! You stand by idly as she allows these fears to fester and evolve into something worse! How much longer until she can't be in a room where even a single candle is lit? Or when she passes out at the mean mention of the word fire?"

"Everybody has fears, spiders, and bats and whatnot, and we don't always get over them, but we can live life without needing to get over them."

"Well unlike spiders and bats, fire is not something you can avoid," Tahira pointed out. "There's always going to be a need for a flame, whether it be for warmth, light, cooking food, or performing a ceremony. And what about Ignis? Does that mean Adara has to ignore an entire country because she can't handle the element it's based on?"

"Tahira," Kasim sighed, trying to calm them both down, "you're right, we do need to help her face this. Fire is unavoidable."

Adara's eyes widened in fear, "But, Dad-"

"Your Mother is right, Adara," Kasim repeated. "You're going to have to face this."

"But I can't!" Adara cried, tears quavering down her face as she shook with sobs.

"Yes, you can," Kasim firmly said. "But your mother also needs to realize that when you say stop, we need to stop."

"That's funny," Tahira bit. "I don't remember her saying stop."

A heavy silence clung to the room. Israt and Adara watched in awkward silence as Tahira and Kasim attempting to stare each other down.

"Uh, Dad?" Adara finally cleared her throat. "Thanks for saving me."

Kasim looked back in surprise, "Oh, I didn't save you."

Adara frowned, "But Mom said that you were my rescuer."

"No, no, Sweetie," Tahira corrected, "I said your father, _and _your rescuer."

Adara looked down the bed at Israt, "You saved me?"

"I tried," Israt told the Princess, "but someone beat your father, and I to it."

"But, who?" Adara was confused.

At that exact moment, there was quick knock on the doorframe, and a young man entered the room.

"I brought the cold cloth you asked for, Aunt Tahira," said the familiar voice, and Adara shot up straight.

"Zahid!" she cried out happily, smiling more brilliantly than the she had in months.

"Oh, you're up!" Zahid grinned hurrying to her side. "You okay, Cousin?"

"Much better," Adara closed her eyes for a moment as her cousin placed the cloth upon her forehead. The iciness of the cloth and coolness of the room, made her shiver, and Zahid quickly removed the rag.

As Zahid handed off the cloth to Kasim, Adara watched him settle on his knees next to her handmaiden. Israt casually shuffled closer, and for a moment Adara believed it was so that Israt was nearer to her. But when Zahid glanced briefly at the maid, smiled, and scooted a little towards the maid, Adara wondered if perhaps there was another reason.

Adara would be rather surprised if Zahid found Israt attractive, Jamal and Rayhan were the ones who chased after the servants. But to be fair, Israt wasn't exactly unattractive.

She was tall, her arms lined with slight muscles earned by the effort of housework, and she had an aura of strength and motherliness. Israt had the typical complexion of the Metallites, their regular thick straight onyx hair that fell to her shoulder blades, and the smoke grey eyes. But there was something in the way it was all put together that made her attractive. Her slender waist, her curved childbearing hips, her chest while not generous, was not lacking in size, thin arched eyebrows – Zahid had always been strangely into eyebrows – the petite nose, and small naturally red lips.

Israt reminded Adara a lot of the kind of women portraits were painted of. While they never really seemed to be of Goddess like beauty, their average features were highlighted and arranged elegantly through the artist's brush.

In fact, upon closer inspection, Adara couldn't help but suddenly feel self-conscious to be compared to her handmaiden, especially since Zahid had always been the one to swear – in a non-romantic way – that Adara was beautiful.

And now he was watching someone else.

Now, if Israt was attracted to Zahid, Adara wouldn't be surprised. Israt certainly wasn't the first, nor would she be the last. Like his brother, Zahid, was a very attractive man.

Zahid would be nineteen on the twentieth of October. He was a little taller than the average height and had skin the colour of sand. Although he had clearly defined muscles, they were lean as Zahid focused more on learning how to use his strength to the best advantage, rather than building it further. His hands were rough much like Adara's from their shared love of horseback riding and the need to handle reins. Additionally his hands and arms were covered it tiny nick scars, a testament to his training in dagger throwing and handling.

His face was his best feature: thick raven hair that was cut respectfully short, eyebrows that Adara swore he had professionally shaped – a man can have his insecurities, he would respond to the query – the Royal eyes – slightly larger than average, irises a starling grey and crowned with thick black eyelashes – his mother's soft jawline, and his father's somewhat disjointed nose which showed signs from the time it had been broken by Rayhan when he was younger. The boys had claimed it was an accident, but Adara didn't buy it.

Above all, Adara's favorite part was his mouth, almost always projecting the glorious smile they shared, but when necessary his large mouth would set seriously as he paid his full attention to what someone was saying. There was rarely a moment Adara believed Zahid's mind wandered while he was being addressed, and even if he was distracted, it was only because he was focused on finding a solution to your problem.

Like the other members of her family, Zahid was much more attractive than Adara believed she ever would be. But unlike every other member of the family, he would never give her the impression he believed it.

"My Winds!" Zahid smiled at his cousin, "How long has it been since we've seen each other."

"Seven months." Adara playfully sounded affronted, "You missed my birthday."

"Oh yes, the big, One Two," Zahid laughed. "Sorry I missed it. I promise I'll be at the next one."

"You better," Adara teasingly crossed her arms in front of herself, "I'll be a teen next year."

"You'll be breaking hearts," Zahid teased.

Adara fell silent, her hand instinctively going to her scars, "No, I won't."

She glanced at Israt, a tiny pang of jealousy threatening her mood.

"Of course you will," Israt smiled, as if sensing the Princess' jealousy. "You're a very beautiful girl, and looking at your parents, you have nowhere to go but up."

Adara blushed, the kind words chasing away the jealousy. One always had to be careful with handmaidens. They had a tendency to either be your best friend, or willing to use you as a stepping stone to a better husband, and Zahid was one of the best. But Adara felt the honesty and wish to please in the way Israt carried herself.

"Very true word, Young Maiden," Zahid smiled at Israt. "Forgive me, but have we met before."

"No," Tahira answered, her tone hard, but oddly cautious rather than harsh. It was somewhat akin to a warning, which was strange because Tahira was adamant about how people of different stations mixed. "This is Israt Salamanderstrong. She's Adara's new handmaiden."

"Pleased to meet you, Israt Salamanderstrong," Zahid bowed his head.

"Actually, I prefer Maidstrong," Israt corrected. "Less of a mouthful. And the pleasure is mine, Your Highness."

"Oh, you don't have to get up," Zahid said as Israt began to stand. "We can forgo the bow this one time."

"Are you sure?" Tahira asked, an edge to her voice, and Kasim rolled his eyes.

"Of course, My Aunt," Zahid nodded.

"So, Zahid," Tahira said, eyeing Israt as she settled back next to Zahid. She had to withhold a nervous sigh. "What brings you here?"

Zahid ran a hand through his hair, nervousness lining his features, "Can't a guy visit his favorite Aunt once in a while?"

"I'm your _only _Aunt," Tahira pointed out, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Besides, like your brother told us a few weeks ago, the King doesn't just send his son to his sister's house for no reason."

"Especially when he's already sent one son out of the country, and the King is in a fragile medical state," Kasim equally suspicious of Zahid, crossed his arms in front of his chest. It was times like this, when Tahira and Kasim worked as a formidable team, that Adara was reminded that behind their relationship's pendulum swing of sweet and sour moments, they had picked each other for a reason.

"Well…" Zahid took a deep breath. "Can I at least preface this by saying, this was not my idea, and I fought my father tooth and nail against it?"

"You may," Tahira simply nodded. "Now what does Makeen want?"

Zahid winced at ease of Tahira's usage of his father's name. Even Zahid and Rayhan had troubles referring to Makeen as their Father over their King, and Zahid had always heard his mother refer to the King as _My Husband _and _My King_. To be honest, if Tahira hadn't used her brother's name so freely in front of their family, there were times Zahid would wonder if his mother would even know her husband's name.

Zahid sighed deeply, "The King has gotten worse."

"How worse?" Tahira commanded.

"Well… they're no longer saying he has two years."

"How long does he have?"

"They told us to plan for a summer funeral," Zahid admitted.

"Oh joy," Tahira groaned. There was no grief at the thought of losing her brother, but the thing she feared, she dare not voice. It would be treason to recount her doubts of Rayhan's suitability to be King. "So, what's the order?"

"He wants me to stay here until the end of October and help you all celebrate," Zahid explained, referring to the fact that Zahid, Tahira, and Kasim had all been born in October. It was nothing new, Zahid often enough spent October in Chalybs; it had cut down on party costs. "And then, on November first, he wants me to return to Ferrum… and bring Adara."

A wave of shock course through the room.

"What?" Adara blinked, sharing a concerned look with her father.

"Why?" Kasim asked.

Makeen had _never _explicitly invited Adara to Ferrum. In fact, there had been events he specifically excluded her from because he disliked the image of the Royal Family she projected.

"No," Tahira whispered in horror, her brother's intentions surfacing in her mind. "He _doesn't_!"

Zahid sighed, "He does."

Adara frowned at her mother in confusion, "He does what?"

"No!" Tahira exclaimed passionately, ignoring her daughter's query. "I won't let him! It's not his place to meddle!"

Adara looked to her father for help, but his face mirrored the bewilderment of her own.

"What? What does your brother want?" Kasim frowned at Tahira.

Acknowledging her husband's confusion, Tahira returned his gaze, cocked her head to the side, and simply shot her husband a look.

He needed no words to understand the message.

"What? No!" Kasim yelled with a vicious ferocity. "No, she's _my _daughter! He may be King, but this is where I draw the line!"

"Draw the line for what?" Adara shouted at the top of her lungs.

Kasim and Tahira shared a glance. Adara was typically a quiet person, so they knew when she got to the point that she was willing to shout just to be heard, it has time to acknowledge her.

"Israt, please leave the room," Tahira's order was gentle, but left no room for objection.

"Of course, Your Highnesses," Israt bowed.

When she was given permission to withdraw from the bow, Israt gave Adara a nervous look. Embarrassed to have eyes on her, Adara unconsciously pulled her hair in front of her scars.

Israt sighed, and felt the eyes upon her. She looked back to see the Prince watching her. Zahid gave her a small sympathetic smile, that held an element of a wince to it.

Heat rose in her cheeks at having the handsome Prince's eyes on her, and blushing, Israt darted out of the room.

Zahid watched the door for more than a minute after she left the room.

"Zahid?" Tahira cleared her throat, and Zahid looked to her. There was a slight tint to his cheeks. "I think it would be better if she heard it from you."

"Very well," Zahid bowed his head respectfully to his Aunt.

As he turned to Adara, she had to withhold a gasp at the sight of him. Gone was slight happiness he held but a few moments ago. The burden of his news had weighed him down, sending him crashing back to the cruel world. Zahid's jaw was a tense line, his perfect eyebrows furrowed, and lips downturned into a grimace. To see him so angry and pained looked unnatural to Adara compared to his typically jovial self.

"Now, you have to understand that at this point it's meant to be more of a fishing expedition, and you won't actually be expected to go through with anything for a few years yet," Zahid prefaced his unfortunate news.

"And Makeen cannot force you into compliance," Tahira added with vigor. She gave a defiant glance to Kasim, "Winds know, he was unable to do so with me."

"Do what?" Adara fearfully glanced between her cousin and parents. "What's going on?"

"Well, you understand that as someone who carries the royal blood of Zayna, you're a very valuable person in Metallum," Zahid began, crossing the room to take a place next to Adara's bed. Kasim gave a slight bow, and took a step towards his wife, giving the Prince the chair next to Adara. "However, many Metallites go against the spirit of acceptable, the value Zayna built our country upon. Far too many have issues seeing your beauty past the marks of your accident."

"I know," Adara lowered her head in shame as Zahid sat down.

She ran fingers through the thin strands of hair covering her scars, willing her limp hair to thicken in volume. Why couldn't she have been blessed with her father's curls, or her mother's naturally voluminous head of hair? Why was she forced to suffer with straight, thin hair?

"They're too stubborn to see what I do," Zahid continued kindly. He gently stayed her hand, and looked her in the eyes, "You're one of the brightest jewels in the Crown of the Royal Family."

"Maybe I could have been," Adara bitterly replied. "But now I'm as common as a piece of clear quartz."

"You forget that our crowns are set with rubies and clear quartz," Zahid reminded his cousin. "You're a very valuable commodity."

The Prince hesitated.

"Which is why the King wants to help you find a husband," Zahid finally admitted.

"What?" Adara exclaimed, pulling her hands out of the Prince's grasp. "A _husband_? Why?"

Tahira gave a humourless laugh, "Because he knows he's not going to be around much longer, and doesn't want you to make the same so called _mistake _that I did."

Adara had forgotten exactly how much her bitter tone sounded like her mother's.

"What mistake?" Adara frowned, but with the awkward look her father gave, she wished she hadn't asked.

She knew that her father had been born common, though exactly _how _common was a mystery. Tahira and Kasim never spoke about how they had met, nor what had led to their marriage. In fact, Adara wasn't even certain of the date they had married, choosing to drink a toast every New Year's Moon, counting from the year Jamal had been born. They did swear to Yue herself that they had married long before Jamal was born, but evaded any questions asked of their life together before that.

Kasim's low blood was something never forgotten, placed in the lowest position on the Royal Family's chain of command. Adara knew that he had some sort of military history, and that he had some family she had never met that lived elsewhere, but Adara didn't even know where her father was born.

It was the reason that Tahira was the clear Master of the House, and why Kasim struggled with her authority sometimes. The two dearly loved each other, but Tahira had always been bigheaded about her lineage, and clearly thought herself above her husband in some regards.

Tahira joining with Kasim's low blood was somewhat of a joke in the Kingdom of Metallum, so with Adara's lessened selection of potential suitors, due to her perceived unattractiveness, it _did_ make sense that Makeen would worry about Adara's future husband.

"The King wants me to bring you to court, have my Mother's attendants to their best to help you conform to their views of attractiveness, and begin presenting you to the Noble bachelors of the Kingdom," Zahid explained acrimoniously.

"But, I'm not even… well, _eligible._" Adara blushed at the personal nature of her confession, "I haven't even started my courses yet."

"Don't worry, Adara," Zahid laughed, "I can tell by the outfit."

Adara crossed her arms over her half-sari.

"I don't want to do it," Adara muttered. "They'll all just stare at me, and whisper behind my back. And if I approach anyone, they'll just laugh in my face… And about my face."

"You're not going to do it," Kasim firmly said. "I draw the line. Commoner or not, I'm not allowed to let _Makeen _mock my twelve year old daughter's differences, condone the scars she didn't do anything wrong to cause, and to flaunt her in front of bunch of middle aged men who only see her as a price tag to a crown."

"I agree," Tahira smiled at her husband in admiration at his unfearing usage of the King's given name. "She is my daughter, and I will not allow this. If I have to go to Makeen myself, I will not allow him to do this."

"He thought you might say that," Zahid winced. "And he told me that if you attempted to pull rank, then he'll pull his."

Zahid sighed and fished a small piece of parchment out of his breast pocket.

"He had this made up before I left," Zahid passed the letter to his Aunt.

Adara didn't even need to see the letter to know what it said; she could see through the parchment, the large red circle of wax imprinted with the King's Royal Seal.

"A Royal Summons," Tahira sighed. Like an over-swelled balloon, pricked by a pin, her whole body deflated.

"Even the Son of a King cannot ignore a Summons," Zahid said, not that anyone needed a reminder. "You'll also notice that it specifically states that neither you, My Honoured Aunt, nor your husband, may accompany us."

"He's right," Tahira's voice was low with defeat. She looked to her husband, an unfamiliar fear shining in her eyes, "What are we going to do? I don't trust Makeen with Jamal, let alone Adara, and Yue herself, couldn't get me to surrender my daughter to that sniveling, simpering, shrew of a sister-in-law Makeen gave me. No offense, Zahid."

"No fear, Aunt," Zahid chuckled. "My Mother hates you too."

"It's not my fault!" Tahira snapped. "She thinks that just because she lay with a male of the Royal Blood, and birthed a few sons, that she is better than everyone."

"Because everyone knows, who don't have any women of the Royalty that are high headed," Kasim teased.

With a playful smirked, Tahira lightly smacked her husband on the arm, "Yes, I'm arrogant, we all know that, and I've accepted it as one of my flaws, but Bashiyra could never just accept that I'm above her rank."

"If it helps, she's never really liked the idea of bowing to myself, either." Zahid glanced awkwardly at the silent Adara, "Nor to Adara."

"You know," Tahira complained, "if my Grandfather hadn't changed the rules of succession from daughter to son, just because he couldn't have a daughter, I would have been the one who was ruling this country."

"Well, that does explain a lot of your attitude," Kasim swiftly dodged another of his wife's playful smacks. "Lucky for me though. I never would have had a chance to marry you if you were Queen."

"You'd be surprised," Tahira smirked.

"If I could bring us back to our point," Zahid attempted to gain control of the conversation once more. "We have to figure out something for Adara. I'm not about to let her go defenceless into this situation."

"So I _have _to go?" Adara whispered.

Zahid placed a hand on her arms, his eyes begging for forgiveness, "I'm so sorry. But I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're happy, safe, and defended from those who wish to insult you. You're a very pretty girl, and regardless of what anyone tells you, even yourself, you _are _going to be a beautiful woman."

Adara blushed and couldn't help the glorious smile that overtook her mouth. It was the way Zahid had always said those kinds of compliments that made Adara believe that _just maybe _he was telling the truth.

"Could _you _keep an eye on her?" Tahira suggested.

Zahid shook his head, "There's a lot of places I'm not allowed to accompany her. We need a woman who we can trust."

"Well, since Makeen barred me from coming," Tahira bitterly reminded the group, "where are we supposed to find one of those?"

As Tahira and Zahid struggled to think of the answer, Kasim waited in silence. He watched his daughter, as Adara continued to smile gloriously due to her cousin's influence.

It was a smile only one other had managed to be given.

"Tahira?" Kasim asked, an idea occurring to him. "Would you be averse to giving Queen Bashiyra a gift?"

"Yes," Tahira snapped. Then she paused, realising her husband had a plan, "Well… Maybe not. It depends. What's the gift?"

"I think I've found our girl," Kasim grinned wickedly.

Tahira frowned, "Who?"

"Could you call back Israt?

Tahira smiled.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>"So?" Lindsey stopped nervously pacing her room as Richard entered.<p>

He shut the door with a dejected click, "Five outings. Once every four days until Festival Day, thirty minutes only, and the two of you will be accompanied but at least three guards, one Dwarf – Theresa included as one –, and either myself or King William.

Lindsey groaned, "You couldn't get it do any further?"

"I'm lucky I got it that low," Richard replied.

Lindsey hesitated, staring up at the branches serving as a roof, as they filtered the silvery moonlight of Yue.

"What about Sarah? What are the terms for her courtship with Prince Rayhan?"

Richard sighed, "They're free to court however they see fit, as long as it complies to our general acceptable standards set her in Lignum. So, they have to have at least one chaperone at all times, and no meetings after Yang sets. Though, I did make it clear to the Metallites that if do _anything _inappropriate to either of you girls, that we'd need to get a healer because my foot would be lodged so far up-"

"I get it, Daddy," Lindsey interrupted.

Richard looked at his daughter in worried confusion; she usually chuckled at his over protective father jokes. Instead she just stood in the middle of the room, head hung, shoulder slumped, and frowning. She was even still in her day clothes, despite the fact that it was already ten at night.

"Lindsey," He said disapprovingly. "You know, it's your bedtime. I know I said you could stay up until I brought news of the negotiation, but why aren't you getting ready for bed?"

"I'm not tired," She muttered.

He almost believed her… until she was forced to stifle a large yawn.

"Sit down," Richard pointed to the bed. "Now."

She did as her Father ordered, and Richard sat down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close, and she automatically leaned her head on her chest.

"What's wrong?" Richard gently asked.

"Everything," Lindsey whimpered.

"Well, let's talk about it. What's one thing that's bothering you?"

"Well… What's going to happen to Aileen?"

Richard sighed, "We talked to both Aileen and Piper, and we made a decision. They've both been placed on an unpaid suspension. Piper for six months, and Aileen for three."

"What?" Lindsey exclaimed, "Why Aileen?"

"Sweetheart, my hands were tied. Aileen _did _tell Piper what had stained your sheets, and her contract does state that unless given direct authorization, she's not allowed to convey the reason behind any mess any member of our family makes. It's for privacy reasons."

"But, didn't she have to, for the safety of Piper? Aren't servants allowed to reject to clean blood, unless they know the source?"

"Yes, they are. Piper challenged Aileen to bring the Laundry Matron into the incident, but it was Aileen's responsibility to let the Matron handle it the feud," Richard explained. "If Aileen had followed proper procedure, she and Piper would have brought the case to the Matron. The Matron would have asked Aileen for an answer, and Aileen would have been required to inform the Matron that she was not permitted to say. The Matron would have then come to me, I would have told her what the cause of the blood was, and the Matron would have kept quiet about that, and instructed Piper to clean the sheets, approving their safety. If Piper had any further objections, it would be out of Aileen's hands, and the Matron's job to deal with it. So, yes, it's a terrible position that Prince Jamal has put her in, but Aileen _was wrong_. She shouldn't have said anything to Piper, and once her three months are up, we're going to have to review her to see if she's a suitable match for her position. If we find her unsuitable, she _will _be replaced."

"You can't replace Aileen!" Lindsey exclaimed. "She's like a member of the family."

"Member of the family, or not, my job is to ensure we're surrounded by people we _can _trust. So if it means we have to find Sarah a new handmaiden that is more discrete, then so be it."

"It's not fair," Lindsey grumbled.

"I know," Richard chuckled, "but if it makes you feel better, I think we're going to fire Piper after her suspension."

"Really."

"She _did _commit a massive violation of privacy. If she had been the sole individual involved in the incident, I would have fired her on the spot."

Richard sat with Lindsey for a while, holding her tight, and leaning his head onto hers. He softly kissed the top of her head.

"You're more upset about Nathaniel, aren't you?" He gently asked.

Lindsey gave a small nod.

"I know he disappointed you today, Lamb," Richard liked to use his daughters' banner animals – Swan, Lamb, and Hare – as pet names for them. He had attempted to do the same for the boys, many years ago, but Lion, Eagle, Horse, Bear, and Dragon, never really caught on. "But, can you really blame him? He's only thirteen. Prince Charming doesn't get to show up until you're at _least _sixteen. Not in my castle anyways."

"I just thought he liked me that much," Lindsey sniffed.

"Oh, I think he does," Richard nodded, "but he likes being alive just a smidge more. Prince Jamal would have for sure killed him if they had fought. Besides, you're young. True love doesn't really ever show up when you're still a kid."

"But Aunt Snow and Uncle Will met when they were kids."

Richard gave a heartily laugh, "Oh my Lamb, you've never really heard that story, have you?"

Lindsey gave her father a puzzled look.

"Snow and Will met when they were kids, maybe five, eight, thirteen at the most. I can't remember exactly when. They met one time, played together, and told each other their names. I think the only reason he retained her name was that you don't get very many people with banner colours, rather than animals, so Snow Whitearth stuck. At least, that's why your mother remembered the name. Will and Snow didn't meet again until Will got turned into a bear, and he remembered not her, but rather the cabin her family owned, and being it was winter, to sought it for warmth, and was surprised to meet her again. But when Will was growing up, he and your mother actually courted for a few months from her thirteenth birthday until Will's sixteenth birthday-"

"When you met her and all bets were off," Lindsey ended the familiar part of the story the same way Richard always was.

"Right," Richard smiled. "Just because you like someone when you're young, doesn't mean that that's the person you're going to stay with. And if it is, that doesn't mean they'll be the _only _person you're ever with. Give Nathaniel some time, and if it's meant to be, it will be. But again, don't even _think _about anything serious until you're at least eighteen."

"I thought you said sixteen."

"I changed my mind."

Lindsey laughed for a few minutes before the final burden on her shoulders sunk her back to the ground.

"I'm still nervous about Jamal," Lindsey confessed.

"Me too," Richard agreed seriously. "But you know that I will _always _be here to protect you. No matter what happens, if it's in my power, I will _never _let anything ever hurt you, Princes, Fallen Stars, or difficult crushes. I swear that to you Lindsey."

Lindsey smiled, "I know."

And they hugged as tightly as they could manage, letting all the anger, fear, and frustration evaporate into the air.

It was the perfect picture of bliss.

They never could suspect the danger of the moment.

As they embraced, neither paid any mind to the small breeze that wafted into the room. This wouldn't be something of note, had not both fail to notice the wind blew the sheet covering Lindsey's vanity mirror. Though it did not remove the cover entirely, the breeze exposed a small corner of the looking glass so that their forms, ever so slightly, reflected in the mirror.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in a cave, deep in the mountains of Terra, a Star sat before a great mirror, watching as it reflected the image of Richard Stagheart embracing a small, young, blonde girl. The Star could guess that it was one of his daughters, recognizing the features she had inherited from Elizabeth Dovestone.<p>

The Star could not hear the words spoken between the pair, but the image was more than enough for the beautiful Star.

She said nothing, but she smiled, her hazel eyes glittering in pleasure as she sat watching Richard. The Star was perfectly still – her long auburn locks cascading down the back of her simple wooden chair – but her hands were busy working. With practised movements, the tan Star didn't even need to glance down at her project.

She was sewing, but this was no ordinary garment. The cape was fashioned from white silk that billowed out, ruffling like delicate feathers. It was stitched with thread of pure gold, a gift from a fellow Fallen Star, who had long ago been defeated because Rumpelstiltskin had underestimated the power of a name.

The Star in the cave did not care; Stars like Rumpelstiltskin all too often proved more liability than asset.

There was one final thing put into the cape, an energy, and long forgotten curse, sealed into the fabric with every stitch. It was one of the many spells that the Tyrant Celestella had destroyed all record of, and shared only with her daughter.

The Star pierced the garment with the final stitch, and knotted the thread through it, securing the thin strand of gold.

She gave a careless wave of her hand, and the Star grasped the handle of a small blade that formed in the air. She cut the gold thread, and then tossed the blade aside, the metal dissolving back into nothing before it could hit the ground.

With a smirk, the Star glanced at the cape and dropped it into a pile at her feet of six others, identical to it, save for slight variations of size.

The Star stood, and with satisfaction, she sauntered over to the mirror which still projected the image of Richard and his daughter. A slight bit of magic had stuck a small knife into the stone wall, holding in place a letter from a man named Captain Farid above the mirror.

As the Star watched the sweet moment, she gave her signature laugh: a dangerous, mirthful, half chuckle, half titter. The hysterical giggle was usually the only warning before she stabbed someone.

"_Oh, Sweet Richard," _The Star grinned, something sickly reflected in her features as she stroked the parchment of the letter. _"It looks like it's time. Enjoy your little bird for now, because soon she's going to be mine."_

And Maeveen laughed.

* * *

><p>So I'm glad to announce that we're finally through the hump that sets up everything, and that starting next chapter, we will be going through the Festival of Mina, the big event that launches the story into the next phase. I'd like to thank everyone for their support, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as we start to kick things into high gear.<p> 


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